Hamish McCreight
asked
Brian Clegg:
So my question Brian is what is a good book that you suggest to read on on how mathematical ideas emerged.? Like you I got so far through A Brief History of Mathematical Thought and then reached a point where I wondered what on earth is this writer doing? He suddenly goes deep down into complex maths explanations and I was lost - and I have a maths degree ! "Numbers and the Making of Us" by Caleb Everett: best so far
Brian Clegg
Thanks, Hamish. It's not what you'd call popular mathematics, and is probably quite old-fashioned now, but I've found A History of Mathematics by Carl B. Boyer quite good.
More Answered Questions
Adam Vert
asked
Brian Clegg:
Hey Brian! I am a mathematical-physics student and just finished reading "Are Numbers Real?". When reflecting on the final chapter in the book, I was curious what your thoughts are about the current state of physics. Do you believe that there has been a change in mindset in modern physics? Have we reached the point where we are predicting unprovable theory (wormholes, string theory etc) because "the math checks out"?
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