Number Theory: An Approach Through History from Hammurapi to Legendre - Softcover

Weil, Andre

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0817631410 ISBN 13: 9780817631413

Publisher: Birkhauser Boston Inc, 1987

Synopsis

Until rather recently, number theory, or arithmetic as some prefer to call it, has been conspicuous for the quality rather than for the number of its devotees; at the same time it is perhaps unique in the enthusiams it has inspired, an enthusiasm eloquently expressed in many utterances of such men as Euler, Gauss, Eisenstein, Hilbert...The method to be followed here is historical throughout; no specific knowledge is expected of the readers, and it is the author's fond hope that some readers at least will find it possible to get their initiation into number theory by following the itinerary retraced in this volume. Andre Well, from the Prelace

About this title

From the Back Cover

Number Theory or arithmetic, as some prefer to call it, is the oldest, purest, liveliest, most elementary yet sophisticated field of mathematics. It is no coincidence that the fundamental science of numbers has come to be known as the "Queen of Mathematics." Indeed some of the most complex conventions of the mathematical mind have evolved from the study of basic problems of number theory.

André Weil, one of the outstanding contributors to number theory, has written an historical exposition of this subject; his study examines texts that span roughly thirty-six centuries of arithmetical work from an Old Babylonian tablet, datable to the time of Hammurapi to Legendre s Essai sur la Théorie des Nombres (1798). Motivated by a desire to present the substance of his field to the educated reader, Weil employs an historical approach in the analysis of problems and evolving methods of number theory and their significance within mathematics. In the course of his study Weil accompanies the reader into the workshops of four major authors of modern number theory (Fermat, Euler, Lagrange and Legendre) and there he conducts a detailed and critical examination of their work. Enriched by a broad coverage of intellectual history, Number Theory represents a major contribution to the understanding of our cultural heritage.

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A very unusual book combining thorough philological exactness, keen observation, apt comments of the essential points, picturesque fantasy, enthusiastic love of the subject, and brilliant literary style: a romantic novel of documents. It is both number theory and its history in an inseparable oneness, helping us understand the very roots and the first big stage of progress of this discipline. The author, one of the most prominent number theorists chose to give us a broad perspective of the birth of modern number theory.--Periodica Mathematica Hungaria

The volume under review...a discursive, expository, leisurely peek over the shoulders of several great authors in number theory is perhaps unique in the enthusiasm it has inspired. --Mathematical Reviews

Edition details

• Publisher: Birkhauser Boston Inc
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0817631410
• ISBN 13: 9780817631413
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 404