{"product_id":"mathematics-without-apologies-michael-harris-9780691154237","title":"Mathematics Without Apologies: Portrait of a Problematic Vocation","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn insightful reflection on the mathematical soul\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers--for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications--this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayy m to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDisarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, \u003ci\u003eMathematics without Apologies\u003c\/i\u003e takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael Harris\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691154236\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691154237\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/18\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 464\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.50h x 6.40w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2015 pg. 130\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/03\/2015 pg. 50","brand":"Michael Harris","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43925617901823,"sku":"9780691154237","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_d6d29e2e-0e65-49fe-be02-6a92e395d4d5.jpg?v=1681078337","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mathematics-without-apologies-michael-harris-9780691154237","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}