Mathematics is often thought of as the coldest expression of
pure reason. But few subjects provoke hotter emotions--and inspire
more love and hatred--than mathematics. And although math is
frequently idealized as floating above the messiness of human life,
its story is nothing if not human; often, it is all too human.
"Loving and Hating Mathematics" is about the hidden human,
emotional, and social forces that shape mathematics and affect the
experiences of students and mathematicians. Written in a lively,
accessible style, and filled with gripping stories and anecdotes,
"Loving and Hating Mathematics" brings home the intense pleasures
and pains of mathematical life.
These stories challenge many myths, including the notions that
mathematics is a solitary pursuit and a "young man's game," the
belief that mathematicians are emotionally different from other
people, and even the idea that to be a great mathematician it helps
to be a little bit crazy. Reuben Hersh and Vera John-Steiner tell
stories of lives in math from their very beginnings through old
age, including accounts of teaching and mentoring, friendships and
rivalries, love affairs and marriages, and the experiences of women
and minorities in a field that has traditionally been unfriendly to
both. Included here are also stories of people for whom mathematics
has been an immense solace during times of crisis, war, and even
imprisonment--as well as of those rare individuals driven to
insanity and even murder by an obsession with math.
This is a book for anyone who wants to understand why the most
rational of human endeavors is at the same time one of the most
emotional.
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