The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved

Subject: The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:58 am

From Publishers Weekly

The idea of symmetry has been heavily deployed in recent science
popularizations to introduce advanced subjects in math and physics.
This approach usually backfires—mathematical symmetry is much too
difficult for most laypeople to understand. But this engaging treatise
soft-pedals it in a crowd-pleasing way. The title's formula is the
"quintic" equation (involving x raised to the fifth power), the
analysis of which gave rise to "group theory," the mathematical
apparatus scientists use to explore symmetry. Inevitably, the author's
attempts to explain group theory and its applications in particle
physics and string theory to a general audience fall sadly short, so
readers will just have to take his word for the Mozartean beauty of it
all. Fortunately, astrophysicist Livio (The Golden Ratio) keeps the
hard stuff to a minimum, concentrating instead on interesting
digressions into human interest (e.g., the founder of group theory,
Evariste Galois, was a revolutionary firebrand who died in 1832 at age
20 in a duel over "an infamous coquette"), pop psychology (women have
more orgasms when their partners have symmetrical faces), strategies
for finding a soul mate and some easy math puzzles readers might
actually solve. The result is a somewhat shapeless but intriguing
excursion. Photos.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Scientific American

The so-called quintic equation resisted solution for three
centuries, until two brilliant young mathematicians independently
discovered that it could not be solved by any of the usual methods —
and thereby opened the door to a new branch of mathematics known as
group theory. This book is the story of these two early 19th-century
mathematicians— a Norwegian, Niels Henrik Abel, and a Frenchman,
Evariste Galois, both of whom died tragically, Galois in a duel at the
age of 20. Livio, an astrophysicist now at the Space Telescope Science
Institute and author of The Golden Ratio, interweaves their story with
fascinating examples of how mathematics illuminates a wide swath of our
world.

Editors of Scientific American --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

* Paperback: 368 pages

* Publisher: (August 22, 2006)

* Language: English

* ISBN-10: 0743258215

* ISBN-13: 978-0743258210

Subject: Re: The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:41 am

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