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The Artist and the Mathematician: The Story of Nicolas Bourbaki, the Genius Mathematician Who Never Existed
by
Nicolas Bourbaki, whose mathematical publications began to appear in the late 1930s and continued to be published through most of the twentieth century, was a direct product as well as a major force behind an important revolution that took place in the early decades of the twentieth century that completely changed Western culture. Pure mathematics, the area of Bourbaki's w
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Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
August 17th 2006
by Basic Books
(first published January 1st 2006)
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Showing 1-30
In the 1930’s, a group of top French mathematicians who thought that the math of their day was sloppy, decided to rewrite the entire math and bring rigor, abstraction, generality, and structure to it. They picked on an old college prank and decided to publish their work under the name of Nicolas Bourbanki, a mathematician from the Republic of Poldevia! For a few decades, this group, with a few generations of members, became immensely influential in how math was taught and done all over the world
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After reading a review of this book, I went to Amazon and ordered it, as well as the American Mathematical Society's book on the subject. I often feel sorry for Aczel, since, starting with [i]Fermat's Last Theorem[/i], he has generally given the impression of writing the second best book on any subject. At least with his book on Bourbaki, there isn't really any competition. Yet.
The AMS book is remarkably dry, and spares the personal details in favour of the facts. Aczel's book, on the contrary, ...more
The AMS book is remarkably dry, and spares the personal details in favour of the facts. Aczel's book, on the contrary, ...more
A remarkably dull book about remarkably interesting things, this reads like a set of carefully written initial notes that somehow bypassed the part where the book itself was written and edited and somehow just shot out onto the shelves, printed and bound and with a misleadingly intriguing cover. If you want to learn about the Bourbaki group and its place in modern thought, you would almost surely be better off browsing the relevant Wikipedia articles.
I feel my impression of this book is different enough to warrant writing a review. I actually quite enjoyed this book. Many of the other reviewers are certainly on point with saying this book is poorly organized. I feel that is very true, I also feel that Aczel attempts to cram too many topics into a single book to its detriment.
If you work in the Mathematical field at all, it's likely you've come across the name Bourbaki at some point, even if you're a more modern mathematician. Famous for bein ...more
If you work in the Mathematical field at all, it's likely you've come across the name Bourbaki at some point, even if you're a more modern mathematician. Famous for bein ...more
Sometimes you read a book and you can't quite remember why you picked it up or what it is about. I started reading this book thinking it might have something to do with a disappearance (which it does) or a scientific/suspense thriller regarding an imaginery mathematician (kind of). Actually it is the history of a group of French mathematicians who decided that Math needed to be more rigorous. It based its math on set theory and was a major factor in the mathematic 'movement' in the last part of
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Poorly written, but a interesting historical exploration of Bourbaki and associated mathematicians.
I picked up this book with much enthusiasm to learn about the mathematical world in which the Bourbaki group rose to prominence. the stories of the members of the gropu, and an exploration of the ideals that led to their approach to mathematics. In my engagement with mathematical history so far, its pretty clear the Bourbaki group played a huge role in the way mathematics is done, and in particular, the now common emphasis on abstraction and some semblance of formal rigour in proving mathematica
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It takes this book a while to get to its point. As a fond reader of matters mathematical [1] and historical, and as someone with a somewhat downbeat view of the goodness of humanity as a whole, I expected that when I read the book I would read about a fraudulent attempt on the part of someone to pretend to be a genius mathematician that gullible people happened to believe. At any rate, I expected that the author would begin talking about Nicolas Bourbaki fairly quickly, given the fact that his n
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a fun foray into a very niche segment of the history of mathematics. i really enjoyed the context given that positioned Bourbaki's innovations in theoretical math with applications in the humanities, particularly poetry, psychology, and sociology. anyway, it's not math heavy, not too heady, and gives you some glossy eye dreaming about creating New.
A reasonably well informed book about the history and impact of the Bourbaki group.
The book wasn't well written at all but it's sufficiently short and dense in interesting tidbits to breeze through regardless.
The book wasn't well written at all but it's sufficiently short and dense in interesting tidbits to breeze through regardless.
A good overview of the development of structuralism as a movement at large and its interplay with Bourbaki's ideas. Also contains a heartfelt biographical sketch of Alexander Grothendieck.
Did not enjoy this book. It lacks the wit and ability to interest me.
For a popular mathematics book, I found The Artist and the Mathematician pretty bizarre. It started out as if it were going to be a history of the group of twentieth-century French mathematicians known as Bourbaki, with a focus on onetime member Alexandre Grothendieck, who simultaneously was one of them and, Aczel indicates, somewhat transcended them. It ended up cutting a far broader swath than that, as Aczel's narrative about Bourbaki's history transformed into an explication of (what he inter
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Nicolas Bourbaki re-shaped mathematics in the mid-twentieth century. Bourbaki's books inspired a more formally structured approach to mathematics that stood in stark contrast to the intuitive approach of his predecessors. Bourbaki sought to derive all of mathematics from set theory, which he declared to be the foundation from which all mathematics develops logically. These developments had a profound impact upon education not only in Bourbaki's native France, but especially in the United States
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I fought my way through the entire book, and there were some rewards, but generally the book is poorly organized and strays from its ostensible subject matter.
From the title one would expect a book about the fictitious mathematician Nicolas Bourbaki, a construct of a group of real-life French mathematicians, who really did publish a large body of influential mathematical texts in the 20th century, and that story is there but it's somewhat tangled and buried in rubbish. I believe the author was e ...more
From the title one would expect a book about the fictitious mathematician Nicolas Bourbaki, a construct of a group of real-life French mathematicians, who really did publish a large body of influential mathematical texts in the 20th century, and that story is there but it's somewhat tangled and buried in rubbish. I believe the author was e ...more
"At the end of 1957, his mother died. Grothendieck, who had been exceptionally close to his mother and greatly admired both her and his father, underwent a shock, which caused him to leave mathematics for a few months. He returned to mathematical research in 1958, and soon afterwards married a woman named Mireille, who had been a close friend of his mother and was several years older than he. Eventually he would have three children with her.
In 1957, Pierre Cartier made an amazing observation. H ...more
In 1957, Pierre Cartier made an amazing observation. H ...more
Some interesting history, but it definitely could have been a shorter book and accomplished the same thing. Of late, Aczel's books have started to suffer a lot from this--unnecessary diversions (sometimes paragraphs, sometimes entire chapters) whose sole effect seems to be to ensure the book goes over 200 pages--as if the substance of the material is somehow diminihsed if it only runs 180 pages. He could have lost 90% of the 40+ pages of the history structuralism and still gotten his point acros
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Unfortunately this doesn't quite live up to expectations. Too chatty when it comes to biographical details of too many people, while Nicolas Bourbaki and their contributions get only skin deep coverage. Let alone giving the layperson at least some grasp of what the mathematics was about. Still interesting as Azcel tries to place Bourbaki within in the general context of cultural history - an approach that would deserve a more skilful execution as it is a somewhat unique, promising point of view.
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Interesting topic, one that resonates even today, the history of it well-covered, but felt greatly redundant to me. Perhaps in part because of my already established familiarity with Structuralism, a founding principle of the actions & ideas explored in the book. But it's also somewhat because of the book itself, where things were covered again, then again, then mentioned another time. Wanted to know more about Grothendieck (a real person who fits into the whole scheme), truth told, and I th
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An interesting look at a movement initiated by a group of French mathematicians to make a rigorous and complete exposition of many branches of mathematics. Instead of promoting themselves as individuals, the members published under the pseudonym "Bourbaki". The movement is alleged by the author to underlie developments under the heading of "Structuralism" in many fields including anthropology, philosophy, and literary criticism.
These contentions are not really backed up, but there are interestin ...more
These contentions are not really backed up, but there are interestin ...more
Some interesting insights into French mathematics of the twentieth century. In essence, the book tells the story of a group of young and dedicated mathematicians writing collectively under the pseudonym of Nicolus Bourbaki. Their aim? To revise and consolidate outdated mathematical literature of their day into a selection of volumes that would form the syllabus of French tertiary maths.
The Amazon write-ups on this book were not very complimentary. To a certain extent, I agreed with some of the c ...more
The Amazon write-ups on this book were not very complimentary. To a certain extent, I agreed with some of the c ...more
I was primarily reading this to better understand what Bourbaki was, and I guess this book explained that. But it didn't do a great job at explaining why structuralism became so important. Structuralism seems natural, from a mathematical perspective, but I was unable to see--and Aczel didn't explain to me--what it was useful for in psychology, anthropology, etc. Also, I found the layout of the book a little confusing, and I think it could be rearranged to more effectively tell the story.
While not being a mathematician I am very appreciative of the book in pointing me in several directions all at once. I sense a structuralist feel peppered with the chaotic in its writing. Somewhat repetitive at times but making me think that you could pick up this book in future and read from anywhere in it and you would get a sense of the whole. Hope that makes sense!
I did not know the genre of mathematical history existed before reading this book. I am not a mathematician so it was all new to me. I have since read several others that I would recommend as well.
I think there are better writers out there, but for the genre Aczel is very accessible to the mainstream reader.
I think there are better writers out there, but for the genre Aczel is very accessible to the mainstream reader.
Aczel is a prolific and prosaic writer. This was a cultural as much as mathematical biography. There are cameos by Picasso and location changes all over Europe. I'm not sure where category theory is today, but the fascinating true story of Alexandre Grothendieck is the centerpiece of gravitational interest in this text.
Not bad but not great either. A nice explanation of who comprised Bourbaki and how they created their semi-secret society and its impact upon modern mathematics as well as other areas like literature, art, anthropology, economics, and psychology. A nice little book that sometimes seems like it's stretching for content but overall does a good job explaining the French structural revolution.
I really thought that this was something I would enjoy as I really like both Mathematics and history. It was something that just dragged on and on though. Given the choice between reading it and staring at corn fields in Iowa, I chose the corn fields hands down for many hours. While the topic could have been interesting, the author fails to engage the reader.
First Math History book I've read. I liked some of the topics and interested me in Structuralism in Literature. There were many mistakes I found as well as a few chapters that just didn't need to be there. I don't think the book had a central purpose as it seemed like a biography of a member of Bourbaki as well as Bourbaki and a study of structuralism itself for a few chapters.
Disappointing. I enjoyed his Riddle of the Compass. But his writing in this book sophomoric (feels like an undergrad trying to reach a page count) and he manages to turn what could be an interesting story into a boring one.
Great insight into the mathematical basis of structuralism and its artistic implications not to mention linguistics or anthropology.
The book remains very chatty, wish it ran deeper into the logic the maths the philosophical niceties, rather than all the character gossip, so I mark it 3.
The book remains very chatty, wish it ran deeper into the logic the maths the philosophical niceties, rather than all the character gossip, so I mark it 3.
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Amir Aczel was an Israeli-born American author of popular science and mathematics books. He was a lecturer in mathematics and history of mathematics.
He studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Getting graduating with a BA in mathematics in 1975, received a Master of Science in 1976 and several years later accomplished his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Oregon. He died in Nîme ...more
He studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Getting graduating with a BA in mathematics in 1975, received a Master of Science in 1976 and several years later accomplished his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Oregon. He died in Nîme ...more
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