Product Description

This is an astute and lively exploration of what it's really like to do mathematics, by well-known mathematician and writer Ian Stewart. The first scientific entry in Basic Books' renowned "Art of Mentoring" series, "Letters to a Young Mathematician" tells readers what Ian Stewart wishes he'd known when he was a student. Subjects ranging from the philosophical to the practical - what mathematics is and why it's worth doing, the relationship between logic and proof, the role of beauty in mathematical thinking, the future of mathematics, how to deal with the peculiarities of the mathematical community, and many others - are dealt with in Stewart's much-admired style, which combines subtle, easygoing humour with a talent for cutting to the heart of the matter. Like GH Hardy's classic "A Mathematician's Apology", this book is sure to be a perennial favourite with students at all levels, as well as other readers who are curious about what mathematics is all about. Ranging broadly in subject matter, these brief, intellectual primers to life are a stimulating read for anyone who wants to experience the insights, wisdom and advice of today's leading minds.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110488 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
"(This) book's greatest value is its insight into what it is to be a mathematician... His enthusiasm is infectious." The Times "The letter in which Stewart tells Meg how to teach undergraduates should be compulsory reading for all lecturers and tutors". Nature"

About the Author
Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, and Director of the Mathematics Awareness Centre at Warwick. He has written over 140 mathematical research papers on subjects such as symmetry in dynamics, pattern formation, chaos and mathematical biology, as well as numerous popular books, including Does God Play Dice?, What Shape is a Snowflake?, Nature's Numbers, The Annotated Flatland and Flatterland. He lives in Coventry.

Customer Reviews

A dual-layered work of education and advice but entertaining more than anything
For the "non-Mathmo", this book will provide a fascinating insight into the career arc of a Mathematician from high school beginnings right up to post-graduate University and research positions. However, it is so much more than that: as is now the norm for Stewart, the work is generously peppered with accessible, entertaining anecdotes which serve as appropriate interludes at any point he is in danger of entering 'yawn booorrring' territory. These anecdotes also elucidate exactly what it is that Mathematicians do and go some way to explaining to the layman just what the appeal of the subject is. Particularly worthy of praise is the fact that Stewart has not relied on the clichés of popular Mathematics which we have all seen before (The Death of Evariste Galois, Sophie Germain etc.) and instead injects some new, lesser known stories into the mix.

Much more narratively interesting than his other works, the apparently ageless Stewart corresponds with a young Mathematician giving advice as she travels, over the course of a decade or so, along the path of a Maths student, eventually to the career ladder. The nature of their correspondence at first has a sinister edge, as if he is grooming her, but any such suspicions are swiftly dropped as it becomes more apparent that the letter format is merely a tool Stewart is employing to spread his message about the world of Mathematics. The personal touch gives Stewart's page-voice a warmth that successfully dampens the often smug and arrogant tone present in his other works.

To the Mathematics student, this work is both an invaluable motivational tool and a useful tome of advice for any career or study choices that the student finds themselves having to make. As a Mathematics student myself I often felt while reading the book that I could slip into the role of Meg (the eponymous "young Mathematican") and feel the wisdom was being addressed to me personally. Chapter 14's anthropological approach to the academic environment (a clever, almost tribal analysis of "gift giving" and "tribute") is essential reading for anyone in the academic field intending to manipulate the machine in their favour. Academia is a highly politicised field and Stewart's insights will minimise frustrations if carefully considered.

While it is a perpetual problem for the popular Mathematics writer to dumb down the subject enough to make it accessible, Stewart has achieved something truly praiseworthy here, a triumph of style that manages to address two audiences on two separate levels with one single voice. If before his work and the work of his popular Mathematics writing peers (especially Keith Devlin) were really only suitable for Mathematicians and students in Mathematical Sciences then Letters to a Young Mathematician marks an important turning point in contemporary popular Mathematical literature for being a work that can be appreciated truly outside of the academic context. Stewart is finally taking Mathematical literature to the places that Russell Stannard did with his Uncle Albert books and Jostein Gaarder did with Sophie's World and for this he can only be praised.

Review of Letters to a Young Mathematician
'Review of Letters to a Young Mathematician' by Ian Stewart is a book which explains why a sixth former should study mathematics at undergraduate. Additionally it is an excellent book to motivate undergraduates to study mathematics at postgraduate level.
However the book contains no or very little mathematics so it is digestible for the general layman. I would have preferred more mathematics in the book because this letter approach could have been a novel way to put over some mathematical concepts.
All the 21 letters start with 'Dear Meg' who is the niece of a factitious mathematician writing the letters. It is set up with a question from Meg (you do not see the question) and the reply from the mathematician. The life span of the letters is about 15 to 20 years starting with the explanation of why Meg should read mathematics at university and ending with benefits of tenure and collaboration. Although the title of the last chapter `Is God a Mathematician' brings in historical quotes such as `God is a geometer' by Plato, `God is a mathematician' by Paul Dirac and `God is a Pure Mathematician' by Arthur Eddington. The book becomes a fantastic collection of letters into the life of a mathematician.
Stewart has quotes sprinkled in his book from the classic `A Mathematicians Apology' by G Hardy. It seems like the book being reviewed is a supplement to the 20th Century Hardy's classic. Whilst Hardy glorified in his non-applications of mathematics, Stewart shows why mathematics is universal used throughout our lives. He does not make a major distinction between pure and applied mathematics.
Humour is sprinkled throughout the text such as the Dean of a Faculty counting the number of lights in the ceiling of an auditorium. When the mathematician points out that there is no point counting them because there are 8 rows by 12 columns of lights so making it 96 altogether the Dean replies `I want the exact number'.
This is an excellent book and definitely worth buying.

Ian Stewart at his absolute best.
I don't think there is anyone better than Ian Stewart at making mathematics accessible to the masses This latest offering offers a thoughtful insight into the academic environment, in a most entertaining manner - a series of letters to a young, aspiring mathematician, tracing her career from undergraduate studies, through doctorate, research contract staff and member of academic staff. A truly wonderful insight into the academic environment and lifestyle from one of the community's greatest.