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The Great Equations: Breakthroughs In Science From Pythagoras To Heisenberg (2008)

by Robert P. Crease(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

039306204X (ISBN13: 9780393062045)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: Fun, quick, interesting read that gives you an appreciation for the history of a subject so many people fear - and gives you some great cocktail party stories to share about equations everyone knows about.If you enjoy historical anecdotes of why things are the way they are, or how something was discovered then you will devour this book.If you respect math and history, you will appreciate these stories - however no talent in either field is required.This is a great read. The chapters are self contained so you can jump around or just dip in for a quick 30 min chapter without concern for what happened last - though I really enjoyed reading it from front to back which gave me a compounded appreciation for the evolution of equations and questions over time.The author does a gre... moreat job of making these accomplishments seem more attainable and the achievers seem more practical - while of course still maintaining the brilliance of each character, which should be implicit by the nature of the matter.
review 2: An enlightening read for those of interested in mathematics but with limited knowledge. This book is mostly history and philosophy but with a modest amount of math that you can either work through or half bleep over without affecting the author's message too much. More difficult to deal with are some of the concepts that don't fit my day to day understanding of reality. One of the interesting concepts brought forth in the discussion of quantum mechanics is the "anschaulicht" - the property of a "thing" to be visualizable by human mind. I'm also reading a book "Inside of a Dog" that talks of the "umvwelt" of dogs - their subjective view of reality that differs from ours largely because of their different sensation of reality (i.e. the colorful world of smells). The difficulties of understanding the quantum universe and of understanding dogs are quite parallel. Now if only my dog would give me the equation...Overall an enjoyable book, but not one to be read quickly (or when your wife has a list of chores.) less

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