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17th out of 132 books
—
153 voters
Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession
In the tradition of Fermat's Last Theorem and Einstein's Dreams, a novel about mathematical obsession.
Petros Papachristos devotes the early part of his life trying to prove one of the greatest mathematical challenges of all time: Goldbach's Conjecture, the deceptively simple claim that every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes. Against a tableau of famous...more
Petros Papachristos devotes the early part of his life trying to prove one of the greatest mathematical challenges of all time: Goldbach's Conjecture, the deceptively simple claim that every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes. Against a tableau of famous...more
Paperback, 220 pages
Published
February 3rd 2001
by Bloomsbury USA
(first published 1992)
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Jun 17, 2011
Shovelmonkey1
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
number-phobics
Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by:
1001 books list
Apparently maths can be fun. Not something I ever really appreciated as a child. Mostly maths was a lesson in which eye contact was to be avoided, a) to limit the chances of being called upon to make any kind of answer regarding anything even vaguely numeric and b) because the maths teacher was kind of creepily weird. This book is what I'd regard as one of the more unconventional additions to the 1001 books list and I really enjoyed learning about the maths as well as Uncle Petros' life story. B...more
Dec 02, 2010
Matthew
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Math lovers, science lovers, knowledge lovers, dreamers
Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture tells the story of a brilliant mathematician obsessed with proving Goldbach's Conjecture (as reformulated by Euler: every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes). Despite the seemingly difficult mathematical subject, the book is a quick and easy read. This is a testament to the clear and simple prose of the author, himself a mathematician by training.
While math is the main focus of the book, an underlying theme is the question of how and why...more
While math is the main focus of the book, an underlying theme is the question of how and why...more
Un romanzo piacevole anche per chi, come me, non ha molta confidenza con la matematica. La storia di una vita, quella dello zio Petros, consacrata alla risoluzione di uno dei tre grandi enigmi matematici dei nostri tempi: la congettura di Goldbach. Il racconto è fatto in prima persona da suo nipote, che affascinato dalla figura schiva e misteriosa dello zio, riesce piano piano a svelare il suo passato.
Un libro che lascia intravedere un mondo parallelo: l'universo matematico, in cui può entrare...more
Un libro che lascia intravedere un mondo parallelo: l'universo matematico, in cui può entrare...more
A definitely unusual read, this book deals with the obsession of mathematics. Most people would find them to be boring and useless, nothing but theories without a practical use in everyday life (outside adding or multiplying). The book focuses on the life of a mathematician and shows why this type of people love it so much. Turns out (if you don’t know it yet) that mathematicians love solving enigmas concerning numbers. And not in the same sense as others solve puzzles or sudoku; they love provi...more
This was a fun read and completely understandable even by an English Lit major. It is fiction, and talks about mathematics from a general perspective. There are several mathematical "mysteries" that people have been trying to solve, sometimes for centuries. Goldbach's conjecture (about 260 years old) states that "all even numbers greater than 2 are the sum of two prime numbers." Prime numbers turn out to be very interesting - they are divisible only by themselves and the number 1. To date prime...more
Feb 18, 2012
Φειδίας Μπουρλάς
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
Μυθ-Επιστημονικό
Υπέροχο βιβλίο! Διαβάζεται απνευστί. Ο συγγραφεύς μεταδίδει με λεπτότητα και ευγένεια τον ψυχισμό των ηρώων και τα όνειρά τους και συγκινεί. Όσο για τα μαθηματικά, χωρίς να υπεισέρχεται καθόλου σε κουραστικές για τον μη γνώστη λεπτομέρειες, μάς κάνει όλους να νιώσουμε την ουσία· αυτήν τούτη την πλατωνική Ιδέα των μαθηματικών, ως το Απόλυτο και την Αλήθεια, να την βλέπουμε υλοποιημένη, όμορφη και συγκινητική εμπρός μας, όπως ο θείος Πέτρος τα "κορίτσια"-πρώτους αριθμούς.
Maybe Doxiadis needs a whole team working with him to create something truly wonderful, because this earlier novel of his is not nearly as good as Logicomix, which was made with several other artists, mathematicians and writers. Nevertheless, Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture is still a good, very readable little novel about mathematics. Reading this felt a bit like reading Vikram Sethe's An Equal Music to me: I don't understand the thing the these characters are obsessed about (mathematics...more
This is a novel about math. I'm not sure a less appealing statement could be made about a book (perhaps "this is a biography about math"?), but I actually didn't mind it. There was enough non-math-related content to get me through it's 200-page length.
Uncle Petros was a mathematician and his nephew feels compelled to find out what happened, because Petros is known as the family failure. The short novel is a discovery of math for the nephew and a discovery of his uncle's life and obsession. I'm...more
Uncle Petros was a mathematician and his nephew feels compelled to find out what happened, because Petros is known as the family failure. The short novel is a discovery of math for the nephew and a discovery of his uncle's life and obsession. I'm...more
This is an amazing book! Most people would consider a novel centred on maths rather uninteresting. I have always liked maths, though I prefer algebra to geometry and calculus and other more complicated things. I also like books about scientists because I know scientists and I understand how their minds work (most of the time). Also, I really enjoy mystery stories and that's what science is all about, after all, solving mysteries. The only thing I didn't like was the ending, but considering the f...more
Repetitive and dull. The meddle of an author is easily tested by how often he or she uses the same phrase to describe something. While Goldbach's Conjecture is central to the plot of the novella the author says the conjecture dozens of time when this reference is un-needed. The author in no way indicates the actual progress of the problem and the introduction of Kurt Godel and Alan Turing was a dis-service to their memory when presented with such dull dialog.
The end was both a twist and totally...more
The end was both a twist and totally...more
The book that convinced me not to pursuit a mathematical career.
It's a gripping story, but Doxiadis just isn't a very good writer. What's really disappointing - to me - is that it doesn't actually get into the math very much; for the most part it just kind of describes without explaining ("Then I tried a an algebraic approach"). Also, I found parts of it extremely obnoxious (like the end!) - especially the veiled notion that only the romantic genius type can be a "true" mathematician, and the corresponding implication that mathematics is the only real abstra...more
Δεν είμαι σίγουρη με ποιά κριτήρια να αξιολογήσω το βιβλίο αυτό, και θα εξηγήσω αμέσως το ...θεώρημα μου.
Το πρώτο μέρος του βιβλίου, πριν μάθουμε δηλαδή την ιστορία του θείου Πέτρου, δεν έχει ουδεμία σχέση με το δεύτερο, δηλαδή την ιστορία της μαθηματικής του καριέρας.
Στο πρώτο μέρος, η υπεραπλουστευμένη πλοκή, η "αφελής" γλώσσα, οι μονοδιάστατοι χαρακτήρες και ο άχρωμος-άοσμος-άγευστος αφηγητής-ανιψιός, μου έδωσαν την εντύπωση ότι διάβαζα παιδικό ή εφηβικό μυθιστόρημα, γεγονός που με απογοήτε...more
Το πρώτο μέρος του βιβλίου, πριν μάθουμε δηλαδή την ιστορία του θείου Πέτρου, δεν έχει ουδεμία σχέση με το δεύτερο, δηλαδή την ιστορία της μαθηματικής του καριέρας.
Στο πρώτο μέρος, η υπεραπλουστευμένη πλοκή, η "αφελής" γλώσσα, οι μονοδιάστατοι χαρακτήρες και ο άχρωμος-άοσμος-άγευστος αφηγητής-ανιψιός, μου έδωσαν την εντύπωση ότι διάβαζα παιδικό ή εφηβικό μυθιστόρημα, γεγονός που με απογοήτε...more
Take a look at what the other reviewers have said. Overwhelmingly they were seduced by the apparent centrality of narrative, that is Uncle Petros, the mathematical prodigy, and his fixation on solving the Goldbach Conjecture. But that was not the key issue of the novel. That key issue was stated two-thirds into the story - That humankind can aspire to solve everything by reason, but practically speaking, it is the lesson of Icarus that is the bottom line. "Set yourself achievable goals" may seem...more
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Rating: 8/10
I do realise that most of you probably won't be able to read the Greek I have put up there, but I thought I might as well show off a little bit and put a teensy weensy bit of Greek on my blog!
Just because I am extremely smart, I decided to read a book, that was first published in Greek, in English. If it were the other way around and you were telling me to read a Greek translation of an English book, I wouldn't do it easily or happily, because the majority of books that I have read i...more
I do realise that most of you probably won't be able to read the Greek I have put up there, but I thought I might as well show off a little bit and put a teensy weensy bit of Greek on my blog!
Just because I am extremely smart, I decided to read a book, that was first published in Greek, in English. If it were the other way around and you were telling me to read a Greek translation of an English book, I wouldn't do it easily or happily, because the majority of books that I have read i...more
I didn't have any preconceptions for this book, my only previous knowledge was that it is about mathematics (obviously!) which, to be fair, means I'm already in favour before I turn the front page! Apostolos Doxiadis has quite cleverly comprised the story of his Uncle Petro's mathematical life into this charming novel without going into too much detail about the mathematics itself making it unambiguous for the non-mathematician to read (or a beginner like me). I particularly liked the way the bu...more
A beautiful, compelling, and tragic story of mathematical obsession. As the story starts, Uncle Petros, once a promising young mathematician, has wasted his intellectual gifts, amounted to very little professionally, and his family holds him in contempt but takes care of him. As his nephew tries to discover what happened from him, Uncle Petros reveals his story of how his brilliant start was eclipsed by his all-consuming obsession to crack Goldbach's conjecture. Along the way he crosses paths wi...more
The plot and premise of this book was cool - boy admires mysterious old uncle, boy finds out the uncle "wasted" his entire life trying to solve the infamous math problem known as "Goldbach's Conjecture," boy tries to follow in uncle's footsteps. The writing was mediocre - but it's hard to know how much was lost in the translation from the original Greek - and the story somewhat predictable. But I liked it cause it kicked off a firestorm of mathematical obsession in me, and that's a good thing. T...more
Ένα βιβλίο που μου έφεραν σαν δώρο σε πολύ μικρή ηλικία και που υπό άλλες συνθήκες δεν θα του έδινα δεύτερη ευκαιρία. Έχοντας ιδιαίτερα άσχημη εμπειρία από τον κλάδο θεώρησα αδιανόητο να μου αρέσει ένα βιβλίο που ασχολείται με μαθηματικά. Ευτυχώς αυτό το βιβλίο ήταν μια ευχάριστη έκπληξη. Από το πρώτο λεπτό με συνεπήρε και με έβαλε με μοναδική μαεστρία στον κόσμο ενός ανθρώπου που έχει δώσει την ζωή του για την επιστήμη σε κάθε της μορφή. Πιστεύω ότι ο θείος Πέτρος δεν είναι μόνο ο θείος Πέτρος...more
This was primarily about goals, obsessions, and family relationships, not about math, although I liked how it included enough math for readers to, I hope, understand why it might be worth obsessing over (I was a math major, and I'm not sure how effective this would be for someone who wasn't, but the book reminded me of the things I love about math). It was a quick, straightforward read, and the writing was serviceable but not fancy so the focus stayed on the story.
David Foster Wallace recommended this book in an article he wrote about mathematical fiction, part of a collection of essays called "Both Flesh and Not". I enjoy fiction that is partially related in fact or at least the details and setting of the story. Tom Hardy, Ramanujan, number theory, Goldbach's conjecture are all real. Mathematical fiction is a subset of historical fiction. If you've ever read Tai Pan" by James Clavel or "Pillars of the Earth", this book could be for you.
The book rides li...more
The book rides li...more
A great treat for anyone who has fallen victim to intellectual obsessions, be they mathematical or otherwise. The prose is clear, the characters are charming and familiar, and the historical knowledge presented is captivating. While I often demure from making parallels of this sort, I dare to make one here: this novel is to mathematics what Sophie's World was to philosophy, just a lot more readable. A pure pleasure!
A great and invigorating read! I LOVED it because I understood and shared the passions in the story. If you're not into numbers and theorems you may just be annoyed by it. I also loved how there were two climaxes in the book - for the story of Uncle Petros's professional life and then the ultimate end which I didn't anticipate right away. It read really quickly - would like to find more books like it.
This is an outstanding work by Apostolos Doxiadis. It is the perfect way to introduce you into the wonders and ghosts of a brilliant mind, that of uncle Petros. The way of dealing with the mathematical concepts is astonishing, I would think that someone with hardly any background on mathematics can still enjoy this book. In my house everyone read it, my parents and my brother and sister. We all loved it.
A wonderful, gripping character study of Uncle Petros the once brilliant mathematician and his obsession with one mathematical problem that made him seem a failure and ruined his life. It is very readable and the characters and situations are fascinating and a metaphor for life – is it better to set yourself one great target in life or to aim to achieve easier smaller goals?
A boy discovers that his ageing, reclusive uncle, derided by the family as a failure, was in fact once a celebrated mathematician. He then embarks on a quest to discover what happened in his uncle's life. Written with an engaging, light touch (there's no difficult maths), this novella is an immensely worthwhile exploration of genius and obsession.
I read this book because it was given to me by a friend. The cover advertises it as "a novel of mathematical obsession." If the idea of a novel of mathematical obsession appeals to you, this book will not disappoint. A very neat book, that is probably the perfect length (short). There is only so much mathematical obsession a man can take!
Doxiadi's literary aspirations notwithstanding the book's saving grace was its brevity. The dialog was forced and contrived and the plot wasn't engaging at all. While he is certainly commendable for trying his luck with this genre - the crossroads of mathematics and literature - I think his book ultimately does a disservice to both.
I found myself enjoying this book when I realized it's best read as a myth, not as a straight work of fiction. Knowledge of the formulas of higher mathematics isn't necessary but knowledge of the pursuit of proofs and the names of some of the most famous practitioners would be helpful. A quick read, and a good one.
Un libercolo simpatico e leggero su uno dei problemi irrisolti della matematica (nonché uno dei più semplici da comprendere), la Congettura di Goldbach.
Accessibile a tutti, anche ai non addetti ai lavori, è insieme il racconto di una famiglia, di una ricerca, di una passione e di una ossessione.
Accessibile a tutti, anche ai non addetti ai lavori, è insieme il racconto di una famiglia, di una ricerca, di una passione e di una ossessione.
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Apostolos Doxiadis (Greek: Απόστολος Δοξιάδης) was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1953, and grew up in Greece.
Although interested in fiction and the arts from his youngest years, a sudden and totally unexpected love affair with mathematics led him to New York's Columbia University at the age of fifteen. He did graduate work in Applied Mathematics at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, w...more
More about Apostolos Doxiadis...
Although interested in fiction and the arts from his youngest years, a sudden and totally unexpected love affair with mathematics led him to New York's Columbia University at the age of fifteen. He did graduate work in Applied Mathematics at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, w...more
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