A Panorama of Hungarian Mathematics in the Twentieth Century, I


Book Description

A glorious period of Hungarian mathematics started in 1900 when Lipót Fejér discovered the summability of Fourier series.This was followed by the discoveries of his disciples in Fourier analysis and in the theory of analytic functions. At the same time Frederic (Frigyes) Riesz created functional analysis and Alfred Haar gave the first example of wavelets. Later the topics investigated by Hungarian mathematicians broadened considerably, and included topology, operator theory, differential equations, probability, etc. The present volume, the first of two, presents some of the most remarkable results achieved in the twentieth century by Hungarians in analysis, geometry and stochastics. The book is accessible to anyone with a minimum knowledge of mathematics. It is supplemented with an essay on the history of Hungary in the twentieth century and biographies of those mathematicians who are no longer active. A list of all persons referred to in the chapters concludes the volume.







Mathematics Form and Function


Book Description

This book records my efforts over the past four years to capture in words a description of the form and function of Mathematics, as a background for the Philosophy of Mathematics. My efforts have been encouraged by lec tures that I have given at Heidelberg under the auspices of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Minnesota, the latter under the auspices of the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications. Jean Benabou has carefully read the entire manuscript and has offered incisive comments. George Glauberman, Car los Kenig, Christopher Mulvey, R. Narasimhan, and Dieter Puppe have provided similar comments on chosen chapters. Fred Linton has pointed out places requiring a more exact choice of wording. Many conversations with George Mackey have given me important insights on the nature of Mathematics. I have had similar help from Alfred Aeppli, John Gray, Jay Goldman, Peter Johnstone, Bill Lawvere, and Roger Lyndon. Over the years, I have profited from discussions of general issues with my colleagues Felix Browder and Melvin Rothenberg. Ideas from Tammo Tom Dieck, Albrecht Dold, Richard Lashof, and Ib Madsen have assisted in my study of geometry. Jerry Bona and B.L. Foster have helped with my examina tion of mechanics. My observations about logic have been subject to con structive scrutiny by Gert Miiller, Marian Boykan Pour-El, Ted Slaman, R. Voreadou, Volker Weispfennig, and Hugh Woodin.




A Mathematical Picture Book


Book Description

How can one visualize a curve that fills the entire plane or all of space? Can a polyhedron be smoothly turned inside out? What is the projective plane? What does four-dimensional space look like? Can soap bubbles exist that are not spherical? How can one better understand the structure of vortices and currents? In this book you will experience mathematics from the visual point of view, discovering fascinating and never previously published images that offer illustrative examples to the above questions. Every picture is accompanied by a brief explanatory text, references to further reading, and a number of web links where you can obtain further information. This book is intended for all friends of mathematics—students, teachers, amateurs, and professionals—who want to see something beyond dry text and endless formulas. It will provide inspiration for pursuing further one or another topic that may previously have seemed inaccessible. You will get to know mathematics from a totally new and colorful viewpoint.




A Panorama of Mathematics: Pure and Applied


Book Description

This volume contains the proceedings of the Conference on Mathematics and its Applications-2014, held from November 14-17, 2014, at Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait. Papers contained in this volume cover various topics in pure and applied mathematics ranging from an introductory study of quotients and homomorphisms of C-systems, also known as contextual pre-categories, to the most important consequences of the so-called Fokas method. Also covered are multidisciplinary topics such as new structural and spectral matricial results, acousto-electromagnetic tomography method, a recent hybrid imaging technique, some numerical aspects of sonic-boom minimization, PDE eigenvalue problems, von Neumann entropy in graph theory, the relative entropy method for hyperbolic systems, conductances on grids, inverse problems in magnetohydrodynamics, location and size estimation of small rigid bodies using elastic far-fields, and the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation, just to cite a few. Papers contained in this volume cover various topics in pure and applied mathematics ranging from an introductory study of quotients and homomorphisms of C-systems, also known as contextual pre-categories, to the most important consequences of the so-called Fokas method. Also covered are multidisciplinary topics such as new structural and spectral matricial results, acousto-electromagnetic tomography method, a recent hybrid imaging technique, some numerical aspects of sonic-boom minimization, PDE eigenvalue problems, von Neumann entropy in graph theory, the relative entropy method for hyperbolic systems, conductances on grids, inverse problems in magnetohydrodynamics, location and size estimation of small rigid bodies using elastic far-fields, and the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation, just to cite a few. - See more at: http://s350148651-preview.tizrapublisher.com/conm-658/#sthash.74nRhV3y.dpufThis volume contains the proceedings of the Conference on Mathematics and its Applications–2014, held from November 14–17, 2014, at Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait. - See more at: http://s350148651-preview.tizrapublisher.com/conm-658/#sthash.74nRhV3y.dpuf




Mathematics in Twentieth-Century Literature & Art


Book Description

The author of What Is a Number? examines the relationship between mathematics and art and literature of the 20th century. During the twentieth century, many artists and writers turned to abstract mathematical ideas to help them realize their aesthetic ambitions. Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and, perhaps most famously, Piet Mondrian used principles of mathematics in their work. Was it coincidence, or were these artists following their instincts, which were ruled by mathematical underpinnings, such as optimal solutions for filling a space? If math exists within visual art, can it be found within literary pursuits? In short, just what is the relationship between mathematics and the creative arts? In this exploration of mathematical ideas in art and literature, Robert Tubbs argues that the links are much stronger than previously imagined and exceed both coincidence and commonality of purpose. Not only does he argue that mathematical ideas guided the aesthetic visions of many twentieth-century artists and writers, Tubbs further asserts that artists and writers used math in their creative processes even though they seemed to have no affinity for mathematical thinking. In the end, Tubbs makes the case that art can be better appreciated when the math that inspired it is better understood. An insightful tour of the great masters of the last century and an argument that challenges long-held paradigms, this book will appeal to mathematicians, humanists, and artists, as well as instructors teaching the connections among math, literature, and art. “Though the content of Tubbs’s book is challenging, it is also accessible and should interest many on both sides of the perceived divide between mathematics and the arts.” —Choice




Mathematics without Apologies


Book Description

An insightful reflection on the mathematical soul What do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers—for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications—this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources. Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party? Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.




Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction provides a critical analysis of the major philosophical issues and viewpoints in the concepts and methods of mathematics - from antiquity to the modern era. Offers beginning readers a critical appraisal of philosophical viewpoints throughout history Gives a separate chapter to predicativism, which is often (but wrongly) treated as if it were a part of logicism Provides readers with a non-partisan discussion until the final chapter, which gives the author's personal opinion on where the truth lies Designed to be accessible to both undergraduates and graduate students, and at the same time to be of interest to professionals







Amenable Banach Algebras


Book Description

This volume provides readers with a detailed introduction to the amenability of Banach algebras and locally compact groups. By encompassing important foundational material, contemporary research, and recent advancements, this monograph offers a state-of-the-art reference. It will appeal to anyone interested in questions of amenability, including those familiar with the author’s previous volume Lectures on Amenability. Cornerstone topics are covered first: namely, the theory of amenability, its historical context, and key properties of amenable groups. This introduction leads to the amenability of Banach algebras, which is the main focus of the book. Dual Banach algebras are given an in-depth exploration, as are Banach spaces, Banach homological algebra, and more. By covering amenability’s many applications, the author offers a simultaneously expansive and detailed treatment. Additionally, there are numerous exercises and notes at the end of every chapter that further elaborate on the chapter’s contents. Because it covers both the basics and cutting edge research, Amenable Banach Algebras will be indispensable to both graduate students and researchers working in functional analysis, harmonic analysis, topological groups, and Banach algebras. Instructors seeking to design an advanced course around this subject will appreciate the student-friendly elements; a prerequisite of functional analysis, abstract harmonic analysis, and Banach algebra theory is assumed.