Mathematics: The Quest for Truth and Beauty (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9789819806300)

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.

Author: James D. Stein
ISBN-10: 9819806305
ISBN-13: 9789819806300
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Language: English
Published: 05/30/2025
Pages: 184
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.92lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d