Simply Riemann

by Jeremy Gray
Simply Riemann

Overview

Though little known outside of his field, Bernhard Riemann was one of the most important and influential mathematicians of the modern era. His early work prepared the way for Einstein’s general theory of relativity, and his breakthroughs in geometry, topology, analysis, and number theory continue to inspire and challenge mathematicians today. In Simply Riemann, author Jeremy Gray takes us into the mind of a great mathematician, exploring the ideas beneath the technicalities, and providing an insightful portrait of a would-be pastor who found himself increasingly “called” by the abstract beauty of numbers.


Description

Born to a poor Lutheran pastor in what is today the Federal Republic of Germany, Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866) was a child math prodigy who began studying for a degree in theology before formally committing to mathematics in 1846, at the age of 20. Though he would live for only another 20 years (he died of pleurisy during a trip to Italy), his seminal work in a number of key areas—several of which now bear his name—had a decisive impact on the shape of mathematics in the succeeding century and a half.

In Simply Riemann, author Jeremy Gray provides a comprehensive and intellectually stimulating introduction to Riemann’s life and paradigm-defining work. Beginning with his early influences—in particular his relationship with his renowned predecessor Carl Friedrich Gauss—Gray goes on to explore Riemann’s specific contributions to geometry, functions of a complex variable, prime numbers, and functions of a real variable, which opened the way to discovering the limits of the calculus. He shows how without Riemannian geometry, cosmology after Einstein would be unthinkable, and he illuminates the famous Riemann hypothesis, which is regarded by many as the most important unsolved problem in mathematics today.

With admirable concision and clarity, Simply Riemann opens the door on one of the most profound and original thinkers of the 19th century—a man who pioneered the concept of a multidimensional reality and who always saw his work as another way to serve God.


About the author

Jeremy Gray is Professor Emeritus at the Open University and an Honorary Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Warwick. A specialist in the history of mathematics in the 19th and early 20th centuries, he is the author of Henri Poincaré: A scientific biography (2012), Worlds Out of Nothing (2011), and Plato's Ghost: The Modernist Transformation of Mathematics (2008), among other titles. Professor Gray is a fellow of the American Mathematical Society and received their Albert Leon Whiteman Memorial Prize in 2009 for his work on the history of mathematics.


About the series

Simply Charly's Great Lives Series offers brief, but authoritative introductions to the world's most influential people—scientists, artists, writers, economists, and other historical figures whose contributions have had a meaningful and enduring impact on our society. Each book, presented in an engaging, accessible and entertaining fashion, offers an illuminating look at their works, ideas and personal lives, and the legacies they left behind.


Series trailer



Genre:

Nonfiction

Subgenre:

Biography, Mathematics

Language:

English

Publisher:

Simply Charly

Edition Number:

1

Available for sale on

Amazon
Amazon


Available formats

ePubFor Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, and Kobo.
mobiFor Kindle devices and Kindle apps.