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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved - How Mathematical Genius Discovered The Language Of Symmetry

The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved - How Mathematical Genius Discovered The Language Of Symmetry - Thryft
The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved - How Mathematical Genius Discovered The Language Of Symmetry - Thryft
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved - How Mathematical Genius Discovered The Language Of Symmetry

Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

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This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

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ISBN: 9780743258210

Description

What do Bach's compositions, Rubik's Cube, the way we choose our mates, and the physics of subatomic particles have in common? All are governed by the laws of symmetry, which elegantly unify scientific and artistic principles. Yet the mathematical language of symmetry-known as group theory-did not emerge from the study of symmetry at all, but from an equation that couldn't be solved. For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two great prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. These geniuses, a Norwegian named Niels Henrik Abel and a romantic Frenchman named Évariste Galois, both died tragically young. Their incredible labor, however, produced the origins of group theory. The first extensive, popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.


Author: Mario Livio
Format: Paperback
Edition: Annotated
Number of Pages: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 01 Sep 2006
 
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.