Misfortune struck one June day in 1944, when a five-year-old boy was blinded following an accident with a paring knife. That boy, Larry W. Baggett, grew up to become an internationally renowned research mathematician and a successful university professor. At every stage in his life, Baggett broke new ground: he was the first blind student enrolled in the Orlando public school system, the first blind student admitted to Davidson College, and the first blind doctoral student in mathematics at the University of Washington. This memoir describes his successes and failures as a blind person living and learning in the sighted world. In addition, he reflects on his two great passions in life - mathematics and music - with short musings on both topics, such as discussing how to figure out how many dominoes are in a set, the intricacies of jazz chord progressions, and the mysterious Comma of Pythagoras.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'... this book testifies that, even 'in the dark' it is possible by using one's creativity and perseverance to achieve remarkable things in life.' The European Mathematical Society (euro-math-soc.eu)
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Worked examples or Exercises
Maße
Höhe: 235 mm
Breite: 155 mm
Dicke: 17 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-88385-581-2 (9780883855812)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Larry Baggett received his PhD from the University of Washington in 1966 and was a faculty member at the University of Colorado, Boulder, from 1966 until 2006. He is the author or co-author of three books and over 60 research papers.
Autor*in
University of Colorado Boulder
Prologue; 1. Uncle Al's truss; 2. A quantum moment; 3. Louis and the problem of sixty-three; 4. A cane mutiny; 5. Pinocchio becomes a real boy; 6. Aunt Mildred and the circle of fifths; 7. Scarlet ribbons; 8. Dauntless courage; 9. The age of enlightenment; 10. Baggett v. Bullitt, and all that jazz; 11. Publish or perish, my best work; 12. The renaissance; 13. 'So how'd that all work out for you?'; Epilogue.
