The Four Corners of Mathematics
A Brief History, from Pythagoras to Perelman
1st Edition
Published on 2. December 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
280 pages
978-1-032-59498-9 (ISBN)
Description
The Four Corners of Mathematics: A Brief History, from Pythagoras to Perelman describes the historical development of the 'big ideas' in mathematics in an accessible and intuitive manner. In delivering this bird's-eye view of the history of mathematics, the author uses engaging diagrams and images to communicate complex concepts while also exploring the details of the main results and methods of high-level mathematics. As such, this book involves some equations and terminology, but the only assumption on the readers' knowledge is A-level or high school mathematics.
Features
Divided into four parts, covering Geometry, Algebra, Calculus and Topology
Presents high-level mathematics in a visual and accessible way with numerous examples and over 250 illustrations
Includes several novel and intuitive proofs of big theorems, so even the nonexpert reader can appreciate them
Sketches of the lives of important contributors, with an emphasis on often overlooked female mathematicians and those who had to struggle.
Features
Divided into four parts, covering Geometry, Algebra, Calculus and Topology
Presents high-level mathematics in a visual and accessible way with numerous examples and over 250 illustrations
Includes several novel and intuitive proofs of big theorems, so even the nonexpert reader can appreciate them
Sketches of the lives of important contributors, with an emphasis on often overlooked female mathematicians and those who had to struggle.
Reviews / Votes
"I can heartily recommend this well-researched and well-written book as a valuable and accessible introduction to some of the principal branches of mathematics. In my youth I read every maths book in Dun Laoghaire Public Library, and many more from elsewhere, but none compared, in quality or scope, to the book under review. I believe that it could be recommended to any young student hoping to embark on a mathematical career. He or she is sure to learn some new and delightful mathematical truths, and should thoroughly enjoy the process of discovery."-Prof. Peter Lynch, Irish Mathematical Society Bulletin
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
College/higher education
AS/A2 and Undergraduate Core
Illustrations
30 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 199 s/w Zeichnungen, 229 s/w Abbildungen
199 Line drawings, black and white; 30 Halftones, black and white; 229 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
445 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-59498-9 (9781032594989)
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 Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
12/2024
1st Edition
Taylor & Francis
€176.30
Shipment within 10-20 days
E-Book
12/2024
1st Edition
CRC Press
€27.49
Available for download
E-Book
12/2024
1st Edition
CRC Press
€27.49
Available for download
Person
Thomas Waters was born and grew up in Dublin, Ireland, completing his undergraduate degree and PhD in Mathematics at Dublin City University. This was followed by a post-doc at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, then three years as a lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Galway, before becoming a lecturer at the University of Portsmouth, England, in 2010. During his time Thomas has lectured on very many different topics such as Linear Algebra, Differential Geometry, Knot Theory and Analytical Mechanics, to classes large and small, from one student to 300. His research interests go from General Relativity (stability of naked singularities) to Astrodynamics (solar sails in the 3-body problem) to Riemannian Geometry (integrability and the conjugate locus), but a unifying theme would be ordinary differential equations and periodic solutions. Thomas has two daughters, and when he is not being their taxi driver, he enjoys long walks in the woods and mountains.
Content
Part I Geometry. 1. The Beginnings. 2. Non-Euclidean Geometry. 3. Curves, surfaces, manifolds. 4. Fractal Geometry. Part II. Algebra. 5. The Beginnings. 6. Complex Numbers. 7. Abstract Algebra. 8. Linear Algebra. Part III. Calculus. 9. The Beginnings. 10. The Solar System. 11. Maxima and Minima. 12. PDE's. Part IV. Topology. 13. The Beginnings. 14. Degree. 15. Homology. 16. Classification.