Publisher's Synopsis
This ten-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world, and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science. Du Sautoy reveals not only some fascinating human stories (for example, the unscrupulous treatment by Newton of his German rival Leibniz and the unlikely friendship between a Cambridge professor and an unknown Indian clerk) but also the hidden connections between dry-sounding mathematical theories and the conveniences of modern life which we take for granted. Gaussian distribution curves? The bedrock of statistical analysis. Prime number theory? It underpins the security systems used by banking and finance. Marcus du Sautoy is currently Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.
