godcreatedintegers

Pure Vs Applied

When reading the book, one can see the growing tension between applied and pure mathematics in the nineteenth century.

Most, if not all of the mathematicians in this book were also very practical people: they could build bridges and design military hardware for example Contemporary (pure) mathematicians rarely have these abilities, and frequently pride themselves on not having them.

In addition, some of the mathematicians of this book did not hesitate in indulging themselves in "experimental mathematics". When reading their papers in the book, one is struck by how much they used natural language, in how "wordy" their articles are.

Classical Proofs

The proofs they gave explained the mathematics and did not just expound on them. They did not hesitate to use diagrams or pictures. This is to be contrasted with the manner in which contemporary mathematics is reported in the literature: it considers pictures an anathema, and strict, formalist "Bourbaki" language is to be used (although natural language of course still appears to a large degree).

One can only speculate on what would have happened if some of these mathematicians had access to modern technology. What would have happened if Gauss had a calculator? What if Fourier had a music synthesizer? One can only admire their willingness to indulge themselves in difficult and time-consuming calculations, especially in the field of celestial mechanics.

History of Math

If you are interested in the History of Math. This is the book for you. It covers many of the key writing in the development of Math and Sciences through out History.

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