An eminent mathematician and writer explores an idea both
simple and complex, both multidisciplinary and unifying--the story
of symmetry.
Hidden in the heart of the theory of relativity, quantum
mechanics, string theory, and modern cosmology lies one idea:
symmetry.
Symmetry has been a key concept for artists, architects, and
musicians for centuries, but as a mathematical principle it
remained, until very recently, an arcane pursuit. In the twentieth
century, however, symmetry emerged as central to the most
fundamental ideas in physics and cosmology. Why Beauty Is Truth
chronicles its history, from ancient Babylon to twenty-first
century physics. World-famous mathematician Ian Stewart tells the
compelling stories of the eccentric and occasionally tragic
mathematical geniuses as he describes how symmetry grew into one of
the most important ideas of modern science
關於作者:
Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at the University of
Warwick and is well known for his writing and broadcasting about
mathematics for nonspecialists. He has written over 140 research
papers on such subjects as symmetry in dynamics, pattern formation,
chaos, and mathematical biology, as well as numerous popular books,
including Letters to a Young Mathematician, Does God Play
Dice?, What Shape Is a Snowflake?, Nature''s
Numbers, The Annotated Flatland, and Flatterland.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001. He lives in
Coventry, England.