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Imagining Numbers: (Particularly the Square Root of Minus Fifteen) (Paperback)

by Barry Mazur (Author) "Picture Rodin's Thinker, crouched in mental effort ..." (more)

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Product details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (25 Mar 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0141008873
ISBN-13: 978-0141008875
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 111,497 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#25 in Books > Science & Nature > History & Philosophy > History of Mathematics
#58 in Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > History of Mathematics

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Product Description

The book shows how the art of mathematical imagining is not as mysterious as it seems. Drawing on a variety of artistic resources the author reveals how anyone can begin to visualize the enigmatic 'imaginary numbers' that first baffled mathematicians in the 16th century.

About the Author

Barry Mazur is a celebrated pure mathematician. He is University Professor at Harvard, Harvard's most distinguished faculty post. His work has been influential in many fields and proved vital for the solution of Fermat Last Theorem. Known for the technique called "Mazur's Swindle".

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
Picture Rodin's Thinker, crouched in mental effort. Read the first page

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, 13 May 2007

By	metadigital - See all my reviews

As someone quite numerate I am not quite in the (stated) target demographic for this book. I am skeptical whether those of meagre mathematical comprehension would be persuaded to buy it. Which is a shame.

I found the book good overall, even though I felt a little cheated. I was expecting a more artistic interpretation of complex geometry, perhaps using cognitive psychology as a cypher; and, whilst there _were_ such passages, they were few and sporadic throughout the work (betraying the epistolary origins of the book). Despite this criticism, the book certainly gives an excellent grounding in the history and development of algebra, geometry and their eventual interactive agreement and inexorable production of the imaginary number system.

I really enjoyed the concluding chapter, too, as it plays to Mazur's strength as a mathematician and helped me confront a nagging irritation from when I first learnt imaginary numbers: that of the arbitrary nature of ascribing the complex plane ninety degrees counter-clockwise to the real. It is worth reading if only for the flashes of poetically-inspired descriptions of cognition, and this chapter, alone.

This book doesn't require a deep understanding of algebraic and geometric mathematics, nor previous experience with complex numbers, though I wonder how many people would read through the text if they struggle to understand the optional endnotes.

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