Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosity
Author: by David Bessis (Author), Kevin Frey (Translator)
Publisher finelybook 出版社: Yale University Press
Publication Date 出版日期: 2024-05-28
Language 语言: English
Print Length 页数: 344 pages
ISBN-10: 0300270887
ISBN-13: 9780300270884
Book Description
A fascinating look into how the transformative joys of mathematical experience are available to everyone, not just specialists
Math has a reputation for being inaccessible. People think that it requires a special gift or that comprehension is a matter of genes. Yet the greatest mathematicians throughout history, from René Descartes to Alexander Grothendieck, have insisted that this is not the case. Like Albert Einstein, who famously claimed to have “no special talent,” they said that they had accomplished what they did using ordinary human doubts, weaknesses, curiosity, and imagination.
David Bessis guides us on an illuminating path toward deeper mathematical comprehension, reconnecting us with the mental plasticity we experienced as children. With simple, concrete examples, Bessis shows how mathematical comprehension is integral to the great learning milestones of life, such as learning to see, to speak, to walk, and to eat with a spoon.
Focusing on the deeply human roots of mathematics, Bessis dispels the myths of mathematical genius. He offers an engaging initiation into the experience of math not as a series of discouragingly incomprehensible logic problems but as a physical activity akin to yoga, meditation, or a martial art. This perspective will change the way you think not only about math but also about intelligence, intuition, and everything that goes on inside your head.
Review
“I felt like David Bessis put in writing the way I learn, enjoy, and live mathematics. A must-read for mathematicians and non-mathematicians alike.”—Hugo Duminil-Copin, 2022 Fields Medal laureate
“In this revealing book, David Bessis leads us on an earnest and personal journey into how to think mathematically: a process of exploration, making mistakes, and gradually correcting and improving one’s understanding.”—Terence Tao, 2006 Fields Medal laureate
“This is an insightful, illuminating, and thought-provoking book, de-mystifying what it means and feels like to do mathematics.”—Eugenia Cheng, author of
Is Math Real?, The Joy of Abstraction, and How to Bake Pi“This is a rare specimen: a mathematical self-improvement book. It’s full of playful, assertive, inventive coaching for becoming your best mathematical self.”—Ben Orlin, author of
Math with Bad Drawings
