Men of MathematicsFrom one of the greatest minds in contemporary mathematics, Professor E.T. Bell, comes a witty, accessible, and fascinating look at the beautiful craft and enthralling history of mathematics. Men of Mathematics provides a rich account of major mathematical milestones, from the geometry of the Greeks through Newton’s calculus, and on to the laws of probability, symbolic logic, and the fourth dimension. Bell breaks down this majestic history of ideas into a series of engrossing biographies of the great mathematicians who made progress possible—and who also led intriguing, complicated, and often surprisingly entertaining lives. Never pedantic or dense, Bell writes with clarity and simplicity to distill great mathematical concepts into their most understandable forms for the curious everyday reader. Anyone with an interest in math may learn from these rich lessons, an advanced degree or extensive research is never necessary. |
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Page ix
... Napoleon . Laplace's political realism superior to Napoleon's . 12. FRIENDS OF AN EMPEROR - MONGE ( 1746-1818 ) , FOURIER ( 1768–1830 ) A knife grinder's son and a tailor's boy help Napoleon to upset the aristocrats ' applecart . Comic ...
... Napoleon . Laplace's political realism superior to Napoleon's . 12. FRIENDS OF AN EMPEROR - MONGE ( 1746-1818 ) , FOURIER ( 1768–1830 ) A knife grinder's son and a tailor's boy help Napoleon to upset the aristocrats ' applecart . Comic ...
Page x
... Napoleonic shambles . The path of glory leads to jail . Wintering in Russia in 1812. What genius does in prison ... Napoleon , indirectly robbing Gauss , takes second best . Fundamental advances in all branches of mathematics due to ...
... Napoleonic shambles . The path of glory leads to jail . Wintering in Russia in 1812. What genius does in prison ... Napoleon , indirectly robbing Gauss , takes second best . Fundamental advances in all branches of mathematics due to ...
Page xiii
... Napoleonic warp to Kummer's geniality . Equally gifted in the abstract and the concrete . What Fermat's Last Theorem started . Theory of ideal numbers . Kummer's inven- tion comparable to Lobatchewsky's . Wave surface in four dimen ...
... Napoleonic warp to Kummer's geniality . Equally gifted in the abstract and the concrete . What Fermat's Last Theorem started . Theory of ideal numbers . Kummer's inven- tion comparable to Lobatchewsky's . Wave surface in four dimen ...
Page 124
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Page 153
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Contents
INTRODUCTION | 15 |
MODERN MINDS IN ANCIENT BODIES | 21 |
GENTLEMAN SOLDIER AND MATHEMATICIAN | 35 |
THE PRINCE OF AMATEURS | 56 |
19 | 69 |
GREATNESS AND MISERY OF MAN | 73 |
ON THE SEASHORE | 90 |
MASTER OF ALL TRADES | 117 |
THE COPERNICUS OF GEOMETRY | 294 |
GENIUS AND POVERTY | 307 |
THE GREAT ALGORIST | 327 |
AN IRISH TRAGEDY | 340 |
GENIUS AND STUPIDITY | 362 |
INVARIANT TWINS | 378 |
COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE | 433 |
THE MAN NOT THE METHOD | 448 |
ANALYSIS INCARNATE 189 | 139 |
A LOFTY PYRAMID | 153 |
FROM PEASANT TO SNOB | 172 |
FRIENDS OF AN EMPEROR | 188 |
THE DAY OF GLORY | 206 |
THE PRINCE OF MATHEMATICIANS | 218 |
advantages of lying in bed Invigorating doubts Peace in | 230 |
MATHEMATICS AND WINDMILLS | 270 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abel Abel's Academy algebraic integers algebraic number fields algebraic numbers analysis analytic analytic geometry angle applied Archimedes arithmetic astronomical became Berlin Bernoulli Boole calculus called Cantor career Cauchy Cayley century chapter curve D'Alembert death Dedekind degree Descartes discovery Disquisitiones Arithmeticae elliptic functions ematics equation Euler father Fermat Fermat's Last Theorem Fourier French Galois Gauss genius geometry given greatest Hamilton Hermite honor human important infinite interest invented Jacobi Kronecker Kronecker's Kummer Lagrange Lagrange's Laplace Laplace's later lectures Legendre Leibniz letter Lobatchewsky mathe mathematical physics mathematician matical matter memoir method modern Monge Monge's Napoleon never Newton non-Euclidean geometry Paris Pascal philosophy plane Poincaré postulates prime probably problem projective geometry proof proved pure rational integers Riemann scientific solution solved straight line Sylvester tangent theorem theory of numbers things tion twenty University variable Weierstrass whole numbers young