Dana Mackenzie is a frequent contributor to Science, Discover, and New Scientist, and writes the biennial series What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences for the American Mathematical Society. In 2012, he received the prestigious Communications Award from the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. He has a PhD in mathematics from Princeton and was a mathematics professor for thirteen years before becoming a full-time writer.
Most popular books about science, and even about mathematics, tiptoe around equations as if they were something to be hidden from the reader's tender eyes. Dana Mackenzie starts from the opposite premise: He celebrates equations. No history of art would be complete without pictures. Why, then, should a history of mathematics - the universal language of science - keep the masterpieces of the subject hidden behind a veil? "The Universe in Zero Words" tells the history of twenty-four great and beautiful equations that have shaped mathematics, science, and society - from the elementary (1+1=2) to the sophisticated (the Black-Scholes formula for financial derivatives), and from the famous (E=mc2) to the arcane (Hamilton's quaternion equations). Mackenzie, who has been called 'a popular-science ace' by Booklist magazine, lucidly explains what each equation means, who discovered it (and how), and how it has affected our lives. Illustrated in color throughout, the book tells the human and often-surprising stories behind the invention or discovery of the equations, from how a bad cigar changed the course of quantum mechanics to why whales (if they could communicate with us) would teach us a totally different concept of geometry. At the same time, the book shows why these equations have something timeless to say about the universe, and how they do it with an economy (zero words) that no other form of human expression can match. "The Universe in Zero Words" is the ultimate introduction and guide to equations that have changed the world.
文/李维安 一个人最专注的时候是从事自己感兴趣的事情的时候。而当你每每读到一本好书,也会吸引你的全部注意力。如果当你得到一本自己喜爱领域的好书的时候,我想你会对它爱不释手。 最初看到《无言的宇宙》这本书的时候,是基于一个偶然的机会。作为一名数学专业的...
评分文/李维安 一个人最专注的时候是从事自己感兴趣的事情的时候。而当你每每读到一本好书,也会吸引你的全部注意力。如果当你得到一本自己喜爱领域的好书的时候,我想你会对它爱不释手。 最初看到《无言的宇宙》这本书的时候,是基于一个偶然的机会。作为一名数学专业的...
评分在书的序言中读到了这段话,感觉十分贴切,仅以此作为开篇——“事实上,数学具有两重性。首先,它是因其本身而存在的一个知识体系;其次,它是表达宇宙知识的一种语言。如果你仅仅把方程视为传递科学信息的一种工具,那你就看不到数学解除我们头脑束缚的方式;如果你仅仅把方...
评分前段时间在通勤时看了好几本老舍的大作,觉得有点“腻”了,换个口味吧。拿一本《无言的宇宙》翻了翻,觉得还蛮有味道的,遂决定抽空是看一个公式、梳理一下对应的证明(本篇未完待时不时续一个公式)。 一、No.1 横空出世的第一个公式是什么呢? 如果是您选,如何在绚烂的方程...
评分在我的奥数还有点成绩的时候,对学数学其实是自负又热爱的。课本没有挑战性,就想从其他地方觅点新奇有趣的。 某年暑假路过书城,一时兴起买了本英国人写的《数学史》,回家读了过半就束之高阁。我猜想那应该是本好书,写的是正统数学史,脉络也清晰,奈何对中学时代的我而言...
语言流畅,讲述透彻,赞!
评分语言流畅,讲述透彻,赞!
评分谈论非欧几何的妙作
评分语言流畅,讲述透彻,赞!
评分由浅入深,一章一个数学概念,科普
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