"The Mathematician's Brain" poses a provocative question about
the world's most brilliant yet eccentric mathematical minds: were
they brilliant because of their eccentricities or in spite of them?
In this thought-provoking and entertaining book, David Ruelle, the
well-known mathematical physicist who helped create chaos theory,
gives us a rare insider's account of the celebrated mathematicians
he has known-their quirks, oddities, personal tragedies, bad
behavior, descents into madness, tragic ends, and the sublime,
inexpressible beauty of their most breathtaking mathematical
discoveries.
Consider the case of British mathematician Alan Turing. Credited
with cracking the German Enigma code during World War II and
conceiving of the modern computer, he was convicted of "gross
indecency" for a homosexual affair and died in 1954 after eating a
cyanide-laced apple--his death was ruled a suicide, though rumors
of assassination still linger. Ruelle holds nothing back in his
revealing and deeply personal reflections on Turing and other
fellow mathematicians, including Alexander Grothendieck, Rene Thom,
Bernhard Riemann, and Felix Klein. But this book is more than a
mathematical tell-all. Each chapter examines an important
mathematical idea and the visionary minds behind it. Ruelle
meaningfully explores the philosophical issues raised by each,
offering insights into the truly unique and creative ways
mathematicians think and showing how the mathematical setting is
most favorable for asking philosophical questions about meaning,
beauty, and the nature of reality.
"The Mathematician's Brain" takes you inside the world--and
heads--of mathematicians. It's a journey you won't soon
forget."
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