The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics
by Marcus du Sautoy
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 122)
Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
people interested in number theory
As much as I think popular science is as a genre futile and mostly poorly executed, I think popular math nonfiction is very interesting and well done. Popular math nonfiction books are more often accurate while packing a lot of relevant information.
This book is about the history of the Riemann hypothesis, an unproven statement in mathematics that relates a function of complex numbers to the distribution of the primes. Specifically, if the Riemann hypothesis were true, there is a function w...more
This book is about the history of the Riemann hypothesis, an unproven statement in mathematics that relates a function of complex numbers to the distribution of the primes. Specifically, if the Riemann hypothesis were true, there is a function w...more
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Read in January, 2006
This was a lot of fun for me, because I'm one of those who is really interested in math, but has no formal training in it. It's probably best classified as a work of history rather than a work of math; it tracks the history of investigation into prime numbers from the time of Ancient Greece to the present. If you're wondering what's up with that Riemann hypothesis thing, this is a good source; it explains the history of the concept, Riemann's work, and the fallout since. I really like the h...more
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A lot of math history here related to primes. I liked that it focused on a lot more of the lesser known mathematicians. Seems like most math books written for laymen just deal with the same major figures, Gauss and Euler, over and over. If you like this book and also like fiction, you should check out Red Zen by Jason Earls. The author of that book obviously loves primes too. In Red Zen, in the back of the novel, the author promises to build you a prime number with text embedded in...more
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Read in January, 2004
The quest for finding a pattern among prime numbers is as old as number theory itself and is certainly well-represented in book form (see Prime Obsession). But The Music of the Primes presents a lucid, unbiased look at the evolution of prime number theory, not just Reimann's most famous take on the problem. It gets a little heavy at the end (as most great math books do) with the evolution of parallel processing and the subsequent exponential growth of digits, but it's still one of my top-five...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
mathematics, prime numbers, abstract thought, history, banking, physics
A fascinating book that demonstrated a baffling connection between abstract mathematics and the real world. Its description of prime number theory and its evolution was excellent. If you enjoy abstract thought, mathematics, and wish to broaden your understanding of the universe, I highly recomment this book..
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This is a math history book explaining a lot of the development of research in prime numbers. It's a little older but still well written and interesting.
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Davide by:
nobodyrecommends it for: Everyone
One of the best essay I've ever read.
Simple, enjoyable and exciting.
In Italy is published under Rizzoli, title "L'enigma dei numeri primi".
Simple, enjoyable and exciting.
In Italy is published under Rizzoli, title "L'enigma dei numeri primi".
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Read in July, 2008
An incredibly interesting book - a great historical journey through maths.
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I am biased, being fascinated by prime numbers
very enjoyable book
very enjoyable book
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i am trying to improve my understanding of maths
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