The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics

by Marcus du Sautoy
The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics
published
2004 by Harper Perennial
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binding
Paperback, 352 pages

isbn
0060935588   (isbn13: 9780060935580)

description

In 1859, German mathematician Bernhard Riemann presented a paper to the Berlin Academy that would forever change the history of mathematics. The su...more






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Dan
Dan rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/27/07

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
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graycastle
graycastle rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
06/12/07

bookshelves: mathporn, nonfiction
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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Zevi
Zevi rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/30/07

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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Patrick
Patrick rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
05/29/08

bookshelves: mathematics
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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Steven
Steven rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/02/08

bookshelves: favorites, mathematics, recent
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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Brannon
Brannon rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
01/19/08

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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Davide
Davide rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/05/08

Read in July, 2008
recommended to Davide by: nobody
recommends 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".
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Martin
11/04/08

Read in July, 2008
An incredibly interesting book - a great historical journey through maths.
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Bill
Bill rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
09/12/08

I am biased, being fascinated by prime numbers
very enjoyable book
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Penny
03/18/08

bookshelves: currently-reading
i am trying to improve my understanding of maths
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Katie
Katie rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
03/26/08

For those who love math.
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Karthi
Karthi rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
11/21/08


Patrick
Patrick rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
11/16/08


Eric
Eric rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
11/06/08


Bonnie
Bonnie is currently reading it
11/03/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

Mr Faint
Mr Faint rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
11/03/08


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Neal added it
10/30/08


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Chris is currently reading it
10/27/08

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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 4.11 (79 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 4.13 (60 ratings)
number of reviews: 11







other editions

The Music of the Primes (Paperback)
The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics (Hardcover)
Die Musik der Primzahlen. Auf den Spuren des größten Rätsels der Mathematik (Gebundene Ausgabe)