Dana Mackenzie is a frequent contributor to Science, Discover, and New Scientist, and writes the biennial series What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences for the American Mathematical Society. In 2012, he received the prestigious Communications Award from the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. He has a PhD in mathematics from Princeton and was a mathematics professor for thirteen years before becoming a full-time writer.
Most popular books about science, and even about mathematics, tiptoe around equations as if they were something to be hidden from the reader's tender eyes. Dana Mackenzie starts from the opposite premise: He celebrates equations. No history of art would be complete without pictures. Why, then, should a history of mathematics - the universal language of science - keep the masterpieces of the subject hidden behind a veil? "The Universe in Zero Words" tells the history of twenty-four great and beautiful equations that have shaped mathematics, science, and society - from the elementary (1+1=2) to the sophisticated (the Black-Scholes formula for financial derivatives), and from the famous (E=mc2) to the arcane (Hamilton's quaternion equations). Mackenzie, who has been called 'a popular-science ace' by Booklist magazine, lucidly explains what each equation means, who discovered it (and how), and how it has affected our lives. Illustrated in color throughout, the book tells the human and often-surprising stories behind the invention or discovery of the equations, from how a bad cigar changed the course of quantum mechanics to why whales (if they could communicate with us) would teach us a totally different concept of geometry. At the same time, the book shows why these equations have something timeless to say about the universe, and how they do it with an economy (zero words) that no other form of human expression can match. "The Universe in Zero Words" is the ultimate introduction and guide to equations that have changed the world.
数学常常让我感到不可思议。 从小学的时候学习π开始。一个圆规以1为半径画一个半圆,周长就是π,一个拖着无限不循环的尾巴的奇怪的数字。 这个数字无穷无尽、无规律可言、无迹可寻,永远无法被完整地表达。在以简洁漂亮为美的数学里,这个数字显得如此格格不入让,让我感到...
评分文/李维安 一个人最专注的时候是从事自己感兴趣的事情的时候。而当你每每读到一本好书,也会吸引你的全部注意力。如果当你得到一本自己喜爱领域的好书的时候,我想你会对它爱不释手。 最初看到《无言的宇宙》这本书的时候,是基于一个偶然的机会。作为一名数学专业的...
评分开头写了这么个故事:费曼战胜了推销员,诺贝尔奖得主击败了机器,算盘惨败给了纯粹的思维。(——我最爱的费曼身上永远不缺好故事。) 公式是数学与科学的命脉,是数学家用来建造自己艺术殿堂的一砖一石,或者说是他们用来表达有关宇宙想法的密码。它让我们感到不可思议。我一...
评分虽然阅读过程中因为数学都忘得差不多了,好多地方查了资料才很辛苦地勉强理解,但是相较于得到的快乐,这点努力简直太划算了! (经常看得满头问号哈哈哈哈) 之前读特德·姜的科幻短篇没能理解的地方,也部分地在这本科普读物里得到了解答。比如欧拉定理为什么是“有史以来最...
评分| 有读荐书第 16 期 | 无言的宇宙 — [美] 达纳·麦肯齐 著 — Q:数学是什么? A:音乐家说 数学是世界上最和谐的音符。 植物学家说 世界上没有比数学更美的花朵。 美学家说 哪里有数学,哪里才有真正的美。 哲学家说 你可以不相信上帝, 但是你必需相信数学, 世界什么都...
令人手不释卷,一气呵成读完。
评分由浅入深,一章一个数学概念,科普
评分语言流畅,讲述透彻,赞!
评分谈论非欧几何的妙作
评分语言流畅,讲述透彻,赞!
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