The Mathematician's BrainThe 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. |
Contents
Scientific Thinking | 1 |
What Is Mathematics? | 5 |
The Erlangen Program | 11 |
Mathematics and Ideologies | 17 |
The Unity of Mathematics | 23 |
A Glimpse into Algebraic Geometry and Arithmetic | 29 |
A Trip to Nancy with Alexander Grothendieck | 34 |
Structures | 41 |
Structures and Concept Creation | 73 |
Turings Apple | 78 |
Mathematical Invention Psychology and Aesthetics | 85 |
The Circle Theorem and an Infinite Dimensional Labyrinth | 91 |
Mistake | 97 |
The Smile of Mona Lisa | 103 |
Tinkering and the Construction of Mathematical Theories | 108 |
The Strategy of Mathematical Invention | 113 |
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The Mathematician's Brain: A Personal Tour Through the Essentials of ... David Ruelle Limited preview - 2018 |