An insightful reflection on the mathematical soul
What do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers-for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications-this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources.
Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyam to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party?
Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.
Industry Reviews
Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award in Mathematics, Association of American Publishers One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for the Year Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award in Mathematics, Association of American Publishers One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2015 "Mathematics without Apologies is a kaleidoscope of philosophical, sociological, historical and literary perspectives on what mathematicians do, and why."--Amir Alexander, Nature "A wry and insightful look at what being a pure mathematician is all about, as seen from the inside."--Steven Strogatz, Physics Today "If you are interested at all in what mathematics really is and what the best mathematicians really do (and you're up for an intellectual challenge), I highly recommend that you get a copy and set some time aside for delving into this unusual book... Harris manages to move back and forth between the deepest ideas about mathematics at the frontiers of the subject, insightful takes on the sociology of mathematical research, and a variety of topics pursued in a sometimes gonzo version of post-modern academic style. You will surely sometimes be baffled, but definitely will come away knowing about many things you'd never heard of before, and with a lot of new ideas to think about."--Peter Woit, Not Even Wrong "Harris is the kind of mathematician one hopes to meet at an intimate dinner party. By sharing his professional and personal relationship to mathematics, [he] links art, philosophy, music, and literature to academic culture and research problems."--Library Journal "Extraordinary, extravagant... Harris is a polyglot, deeply learned. Threading through his remarkable book, unifying it, is Hardy's lament regarding whether a pure mathematician can make a claim that the vocation has a philosophically 'useful' purpose. Harris's reply is multivalent, persuasive, and profound. A book to be read and then read again."--Choice "The erudition displayed by Harris in this book is amazing... The satisfaction it gives is more than rewarding."--A. Bultheel, Adhemar Bultheel Blog "This book is a rich tapestry interweaving various aspects of culture and tradition--social, economic, religious, aesthetic--in an attempt to explicate the three basic philosophical questions underlying mathematics as a human endeavor: the What, Why and How of it."--Swami Vidyanathananda, Prabuddha Bharata "Michael Harris is more than a mathematician; he is a Parisian intellectual."--Brendan Larvor, London Mathematical Society Newsletter "Even apprentice number theorists can understand and enjoy this well-written book. Harris's theories are coherent and rational, and he provides lay readers clarity into what contemporary mathematicians really do."--Bernadette Trainer, Mathematics Teacher
