POETRY OF THE UNIVERSE: A Mathematical Exploration of the Cosmos

by Robert Osserman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 1995

Osserman addresses all those humanities lovers who, in high school or college, screwed up their brows in consternation when confronted by a differential equation and said, ""Why do I need to know that?"" Evangelizing on behalf of mathematics, Osserman (Mathematics/Stanford; Deputy Director of the Mathematical Science Research Center at Berkeley) does without formulas, instead offering a broad survey of the history of mathematics and an account of how abstract mathematical thinking led to revolutions in physics and technological knowledge. Citing scientific breakthroughs from the Pythagorean Theorem to the recent discovery of cosmic background radiation (further support for the Big Bang theory), Osserman, a passionate teacher, tries to convey the dual nature of mathematics: ""its internal beauty and its power to reveal the hidden structure of the external world.

Pub Date: Feb. 13, 1995

ISBN: 0385474296

Page Count: 210

Publisher: Anchor/Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1995

Categories: NONFICTION