1 + 1 = 2 But where does it come from

[ddave]

Here's another book recommendation, although not an ebook. Have you heard of "Fermat's Enigma". It traces the history of a mathmatical proof that was 1st proposed by Pythagoras and not solved until the 1990's. The author, Simon Singh, makes it more of a history story complete with some human drama (arrogance, isolation, depression, suicide, etc.) while not going far into the math. It does a good job of illustrating the idea behind a mathmatical proof and introduces some of the basic concepts of mathmatics. For example; integers, negative numbers, zero, complex numbers.
Dave

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ddave

Here's another book recommendation, although not an ebook. Have you heard of "Fermat's Enigma". It traces the history of a mathmatical proof that was 1st proposed by Pythagoras and not solved until the 1990's. The author, Simon Singh, makes it more of a history story complete with some human drama (arrogance, isolation, depression, suicide, etc.) while not going far into the math. It does a good job of illustrating the idea behind a mathmatical proof and introduces some of the basic concepts of mathmatics. For example; integers, negative numbers, zero, complex numbers.
Dave

I think you're referring to Simon Singh's book Fermat's Last Theorem. Don't think it's available as an e-book.

[Madam Broshkina]

Not available in eBook form but you could check out Unknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra

Via Amazon:

This book's title is deceiving, for Derbyshire offers a very real and very entertaining survey of the development of algebra. "Real" and "imaginary" refer to types of numbers, and Derbyshire (Prime Obsession) opens with a basic primer on the various flavors of numbers and polynomials before looking at algebra's development over 3,000 years. As he explains how algebraic notation wended its way from Sumerian scratches on clay to such contemporary mathematical structures as Calabi-Yau manifolds (used by Andrew Wiles to solve Fermat's Last Theorem), Derbyshire introduces readers to the colorful figures who made contributions: Hypatia, whose death in Alexandria at the hands of an angry Christian mob marked the end of mathematics in the ancient world; 19th-century mathematician Hermann Grassmann, who published a 3,000-page translation of the ancient Hindu text the Rig Veda after his work on vector spaces was ignored; and Emanuel Lasker, more famous as the longest-reigning world chess champion than for his contributions to ring theory. This book will appeal to readers who relished the rigorous mathematical discursions interspersed with informal historical vignettes of David Berlinski's A Tour of the Calculus, but less mathematically inclined readers more interested in the history of science will also enjoy it. (May)

Or Prime Obsession

Via Amazon:

Bernhard Riemann was an underdog of sorts, a malnourished son of a parson who grew up to be the author of one of mathematics' greatest problems. In Prime Obsession, John Derbyshire deals brilliantly with both Riemann's life and that problem: proof of the conjecture, "All non-trivial zeros of the zeta function have real part one-half." Though the statement itself passes as nonsense to anyone but a mathematician, Derbyshire walks readers through the decades of reasoning that led to the Riemann Hypothesis in such a way as to clear it up perfectly. Riemann himself never proved the statement, and it remains unsolved to this day. Prime Obsession offers alternating chapters of step-by-step math and a history of 19th-century European intellectual life, letting readers take a breather between chunks of well-written information. Derbyshire's style is accessible but not dumbed-down, thorough but not heavy-handed. This is among the best popular treatments of an obscure mathematical idea, inviting readers to explore the theory without insisting on page after page of formulae.

[Sparrow]

'Pi in theSky: counting thinking and being' by John Barrow is another excellent read.

[ddave]

Actually, Fermat's Enigma and Fermat's Last Theorem are two separate books. The full title of the former is: Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem (Paperback). Both books are listed on Amazon's website, again I don't think either are available as an ebook. I'm not sure of the difference. I read Fermat's Enigma as a paperback, since my daughter brought it home for a school assignment.

Dave

[HarryT]

Thanks for clarifying that, Dave!

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by Katti's Cat

Hope someone can help. I have a sudden urge to read about the history if mathematics. Now, I am no Einstein nor would I want to become one.

I have read previously "The Parrots Theorem" by Denis Guedj and enjoyed it but want to know more.

I am still reading "Science - A History 1543-2001" by John Gribbin. This is very informative and I love reading it but as I have it as pBook and it weighs too much I only read small sections of it - hence it takes so long.

So, want book do I want - I am looking for recommendations for books about the history of mathematics, outlining where they come from, what it is about. At this stage I am not so much interested in books about specific maths, more the general kind.

I can't help you with a book recommendation. That said, you may find the following anecdote amusing...

When I was a Freshman at Carnegie Mellon (too many years ago!) one of my roommates was enrolled in the "Math Studies" honors mathematics program. The course called "Math Studies" was a 24-unit monster--equivalent to three heavy math/science courses--that aimed to cover all of undergraduate mathematics in four semesters. Starting from first principles! (Of course the idea was that they'd start in on graduate math courses for their Jr. and Sr. years. But I digress.)

Sometime in December, my roommate came back from his math studies class looking totally boggled. When I asked what was up, he said "We learned to add today!"

It turned out that they'd finally covered enough of the underpinnings of mathematics to understand why addition works -- after only 2.5 semesters-worth of an Honors-level undergraduate math course!

Xenophon
(whose brain still hurts when thinking about it...)

[Katti's Cat]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

I can't help you with a book recommendation. That said, you may find the following anecdote amusing...

When I was a Freshman at Carnegie Mellon (too many years ago!) one of my roommates was enrolled in the "Math Studies" honors mathematics program. The course called "Math Studies" was a 24-unit monster--equivalent to three heavy math/science courses--that aimed to cover all of undergraduate mathematics in four semesters. Starting from first principles! (Of course the idea was that they'd start in on graduate math courses for their Jr. and Sr. years. But I digress.)

Sometime in December, my roommate came back from his math studies class looking totally boggled. When I asked what was up, he said "We learned to add today!"

It turned out that they'd finally covered enough of the underpinnings of mathematics to understand why addition works -- after only 2.5 semesters-worth of an Honors-level undergraduate math course!

Xenophon
(whose brain still hurts when thinking about it...)

no wonder i can't balance my accounts

[Katti's Cat]

Thanks all for the recommendations - will work my way through and will provide some feedback once I got through a book. Don't hold your breath though - might take a while

[Ben Thornton]

I got an interesting and unusual book on the history of mathematics - in particular Bertrand Russell's life and work - called Logicomix for Christmas. It puts his principia mathematica - which took very many pages to attempt to prove that 1+1=2 - in context. Not a very mobile read though, I'm afraid.