Mathematics: The Quest For Truth And Beauty

This book tells the stories of some of the great quests of mathematics, such as the centuries-long pursuit for the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. These quests are searches for difficult-to-discover universal truths, pursued with passion not only by mathematicians and scientists, but by kings, emperors and even Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of Star Trek's Starship Enterprise. Some of their exploits are adventures as fascinating as any historical or current-day drama. The truths they have discovered help us understand not only mathematics, but also the Universe - and sometimes, ourselves.

In addition to well-known quests such as Fermat's Last Theorem and the Goldbach Conjecture, some of the chapters describe more recent pursuits such as the Traveling Salesman Problem and the Multi-armed Bandit Problem. While some of the quests have been completed, others are still ongoing, and one (the Six Squares Problem) can be understood - and maybe even solved - by a five-year-old child.

Product details

• Authors: James D Stein, James D Stein
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 29.05.2025
• EAN: 9789819806300
• ISBN: 978-981-9806-30-0
• Series: Problem Solving in Mathematics and Beyond
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Nature, technology > Natural science; MATHEMATICS / General, Popular and recreational mathematics, Popular mathematics