Significant Figures: The Lives and Work of Great Mathematicians

Paul Halpern, author The Quantum Labyrinth: How Richard Feynman and John Wheeler Revolutionized Time and Reality"In Significant Figures, Ian Stewart brings mathematics to life with intriguing accounts of twenty-five extraordinary contributors to the field. By showing how even mathematical geniuses face all-too-human challenges, Stewart offers a riveting chronicle of one of humankind's loftiest endeavors.". His biographical sketches blend equal parts passion-love affairs and rivalries-with insights-groundbreaking discoveries-to offer vivid, complete portraits of his subjects

A celebrated mathematician traces the history of math through the lives and work of twenty-five pioneering mathematiciansIn Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. 780-850), the creator of algebra, and Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), Countess of Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer.Tracing the evolution of mathematics over the course of two millennia, Significant Figures will educate and delight aspiring mathematicians and experts alike.. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics from Archimedes to Benoit Mandelbrot, and learn about those too often left out of the cannon, such as Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c