Book description
There are some mathematical problems whose significance goes beyond the
ordinary - like Fermat's Last Theorem or Goldbach's Conjecture - they
are the enigmas which define mathematics. The Great Mathematical
Problems explains why these problems exist, why they matter, what drives
mathematicians to incredible lengths to solve them and where they stand
in the context of mathematics and science as a whole. It contains solved
problems - like the Poincar? Conjecture, cracked by the eccentric genius
Grigori Perelman, who refused academic honours and a million-dollar
prize for his work, and ones which, like the Riemann Hypothesis, remain
baffling after centuries. Stewart is the guide to this mysterious and
exciting world, showing how modern mathematicians constantly rise to the
challenges set by their predecessors, as the great mathematical problems
of the past succumb to the new techniques and ideas of the present.
Ian Stewart is Mathematics Professor Emeritus at Warwick University. His
many books include Mathematics of Life [9781846682056], Professor
Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities [9781846683459], and The
Science of Discworld trilogy with Terry Pratchett. He is a Fellow of the
Royal Society, appears frequently on radio and television, and does
research on pattern formation and network dynamics.
