Items related to Stalking the Riemann Hypothesis
Like a hunter who sees 'a bit of blood' on the trail, that's how Princeton mathematician Peter Sarnak describes the feeling of chasing an idea that seems to have a chance of success. If this is so, then the jungle of abstractions that is mathematics is full of frenzied hunters these days. They are out stalking big game: the resolution of 'The Riemann Hypothesis', seems to be in their sights. The Riemann Hypothesis is about the prime numbers, the fundamental numerical elements. Stated in 1859 by Professor Bernhard Riemann, it proposes a simple law which Riemann believed a 'very likely' explanation for the way in which the primes are distributed among the whole numbers, indivisible stars scattered without end throughout a boundless numerical universe. Just eight years later, at the tender age of thirty-nine Riemann would be dead from tuberculosis, cheated of the opportunity to settle his conjecture. For over a century, the Riemann Hypothesis has stumped the greatest of mathematical minds, but these days frustration has begun to give way to excitement. This unassuming comment is revealing astounding connections among nuclear physics, chaos and number theory, creating a frenzy of intellectual excitement amplified by the recent promise of a one million dollar bounty. The story of the quest to settle the Riemann Hypothesis is one of scientific exploration. It is peopled with solitary hermits and gregarious cheerleaders, cool calculators and wild-eyed visionaries, Nobel Prize-winners and Fields Medalists. To delve into the Riemann Hypothesis is to gain a window into the world of modern mathematics and the nature of mathematics research. Stalking the Riemann Hypothesis will open wide this window so that all may gaze through it in amazement.
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Review:
"Admirably fresh [and] fully accessible. . . . Rockmore is an excellent guide to take you right to the edge of the mathematical map, and he's bang up to date." --New Scientist "A terrific read. . . . Like a fast-paced detective story. . . . With crystalline clarity and a refreshing sense of fun, Dan Rockmore . . . takes us on a guided tour of the deepest mystery in mathematics." --Steven Strogatz, author of Sync "Remarkable and exciting. . . . The sheer beauty of the writing, the appealing historical perspective, and the drama of the intellectual hunt make you think about the deep nature of the universe as you never have." --Michael S. Gazzaniga, Director of the The SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind at UC Santa Barbara
From the Publisher:
The fascinating story of one of the most elusive theories and the measures to which scientists and mathematicians have taken to solve the mystery.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherVintage
- Publication date1998
- ISBN 10 0099429942
- ISBN 13 9780099429944
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages288
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