The Riemann Hypothesis: The Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics

The Riemann Hypothesis: The Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics

by Karl Sabbagh
The Riemann Hypothesis: The Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics

The Riemann Hypothesis: The Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics

by Karl Sabbagh

Paperback(First Edition)

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Overview

Since 1859, when the shy German mathematician Bernhard Riemann wrote an eight-page article giving a possible answer to a problem that had tormented mathematical minds for centuries, the world's greatest mathematicians have been fascinated, infuriated, and obsessed with proving the Riemann hypothesis. They speak of it in awed terms and consider it to be an even more difficult problem than Fermat's last theorem, which was finally proven by Andrew Wiles in 1995.

In The Riemann Hypothesis, acclaimed author Karl Sabbagh interviews some of the world's finest mathematicians who have spent their lives working on the problem—and whose approaches to meeting the challenges thrown up by the hypothesis are as diverse as their personalities.

Wryly humorous, lively, accessible and comprehensive, The Riemann Hypothesis is a compelling exploration of the people who do math and the ideas that motivate them to the brink of obsession—and a profound meditation on the ultimate meaning of mathematics.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780374529352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date: 05/26/2004
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 352
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Karl Sabbagh is the author of seven books, including A Rum Affair (FSG, 2000). He lives near Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

Table of Contents

Prologue3
1Prime Time13
2Gorgeous stuff30
3New Numbers for Old46
4Indian Summer63
5"Very probably"85
6Proofs and Refutations104
7The Bieberbach Conjecture116
8In Search of Zeros132
9The Princeton Tea Party148
10A Driven Man163
11The Physics of Mathematics177
12A Laudable Aim188
13"No simple matter"202
14Taking a Critical Line214
15Abstract Delights231
16Discovered or Invented?249
17"What's it all about?"263
Afterword to the Paperback Edition276
Toolkits
1Logarithms and Exponents281
2Equations286
3Infinite Series290
4The Euler Identity294
5Graphs in Math299
6Matrices and Eigenvalues304
AppendixDe Branges's Proof313
Notes321
Further Reading329
The Mathematicians331
Acknowledgments333
Index335
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