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A majority of the chapters in this book first saw the light of day as talks at a conference organised and held at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in April 2001. This small, invitational meeting, tellingly entitled Beauty and the Mathematical Beast, brought together a range of academics int- ested in and committed to exploring connections between mathematics and aesthetics. The enthusiastic response of participants at this gathering enco- aged the presenters to expand upon their initial contributions and persuaded the organisers to recruit further chapters in order to bring a greater balance to the whole. The timing of this event was not arbitrary. The preceding decade had seen a resurgence in serious writing dealing with deeper relations between mathematics (and science) and 'the beautiful'. In many ways, we the editors of this volume found these contributions to the literature were revisiting and drawing on themes that had been prominent over two thousand five h- dred years ago, in certain writings of the Pythagoreans. While not intending to offer a historical reappraisal of these ancient thinkers here, we have none the less chosen to invoke this profound interweaving of the mathematical and the aesthetic to which this reputedly secretive philosophical sect was ext- sively attuned. This book is divided into three sections comprising three chapters each, each with its own short introduction discussing the particular chapters within.
List of contents
A Historical Gaze at the Mathematical Aesthetic.- A Historical Gaze at the Mathematical Aesthetic.- The Mathematician's Art.- Aesthetics for the Working Mathematician.- Beauty and Truth in Mathematics.- Experiencing Meanings in Geometry.- A Sense for Mathematics.- The Aesthetic Sensibilities of Mathematicians.- The Meaning of Pattern.- Mathematics, Aesthetics and Being Human.- Mathematical Agency.- Mechanism and Magic in the Psychology of Dynamic Geometry.- Drawing on the Image in Mathematics and Art.- Sensible Objects.- Aesthetics and the 'Mathematical Mind'.
Summary
A majority of the chapters in this book first saw the light of day as talks at a conference organised and held at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in April 2001. This small, invitational meeting, tellingly entitled Beauty and the Mathematical Beast, brought together a range of academics int- ested in and committed to exploring connections between mathematics and aesthetics. The enthusiastic response of participants at this gathering enco- aged the presenters to expand upon their initial contributions and persuaded the organisers to recruit further chapters in order to bring a greater balance to the whole. The timing of this event was not arbitrary. The preceding decade had seen a resurgence in serious writing dealing with deeper relations between mathematics (and science) and ‘the beautiful’. In many ways, we the editors of this volume found these contributions to the literature were revisiting and drawing on themes that had been prominent over two thousand five h- dred years ago, in certain writings of the Pythagoreans. While not intending to offer a historical reappraisal of these ancient thinkers here, we have none the less chosen to invoke this profound interweaving of the mathematical and the aesthetic to which this reputedly secretive philosophical sect was ext- sively attuned. This book is divided into three sections comprising three chapters each, each with its own short introduction discussing the particular chapters within.
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From the reviews:
"The essays in this book represent diverse reflections on attempts to ground the aesthetics that operate within mathematical practice and to account for their origins. … Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; faculty." (D. V. Feldman, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (11), July, 2007)
“Mathematics and the Aesthetic is a heavy book. I mean this in the literal sense: at 288 pages, it weighs 721 grams. … high-quality paper is matched by a sense of attention to detail throughout. The color pictures are … well presented; the text is easy to read. … Enter Sinclair, Pimm, and Higginson. … assembled a group of scholars with diverse academic credentials: philosophers, math educators, and (yes) research mathematicians. … Mathematics and the Aesthetic is a thoughtful collection of essays … .” (Annalisa Crannell, Notices of the AMS, Vol. 56 (2), February, 2010)
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From the reviews:
"The essays in this book represent diverse reflections on attempts to ground the aesthetics that operate within mathematical practice and to account for their origins. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; faculty." (D. V. Feldman, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (11), July, 2007)
"Mathematics and the Aesthetic is a heavy book. I mean this in the literal sense: at 288 pages, it weighs 721 grams. ... high-quality paper is matched by a sense of attention to detail throughout. The color pictures are ... well presented; the text is easy to read. ... Enter Sinclair, Pimm, and Higginson. ... assembled a group of scholars with diverse academic credentials: philosophers, math educators, and (yes) research mathematicians. ... Mathematics and the Aesthetic is a thoughtful collection of essays ... ." (Annalisa Crannell, Notices of the AMS, Vol. 56 (2), February, 2010)
