Roberts, David Lindsay (Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Physical Details: 256 pp.
Language: English
Once upon a time in America, few knew or cared about math. In Republic of Numbers, David Lindsay Roberts tells the story of how all that changed, as America transformed into a powerhouse of mathematical thinkers. Covering more than 200 years of American history, Roberts recounts the life stories of twenty-three Americans integral to the evolution of mathematics in this country. Beginning with self-taught Salem mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch's unexpected breakthroughs in ocean navigation and closing with the astounding work Nobel laureate John Nash did on game theory, this book is meant to be read cover to cover. Revealing the marvelous ways in which America became mathematically sophisticated, the book introduces readers to Kelly Miller, the first black man to attend Johns Hopkins, who brilliantly melded mathematics and civil rights activism; Izaak Wirszup, a Polish immigrant who survived the Holocaust and proceeded to change the face of American mathematical education; Grace Hopper, the "Machine Whisperer," who pioneered computer programming; and many other relatively unknown but vital figures. As he brings American history and culture to life, Roberts also explains key mathematical concepts, from the method of least squares, propositional logic, quaternions, and the mean-value theorem to differential equations, non-Euclidean geometry, group theory, statistical mechanics, and Fourier analysis. Republic of Numbers will appeal to anyone who is interested in learning how mathematics has intertwined with American history.
...MoreEssay Review Christopher J. Phillips (2020) Who Wants to Be a Mathematician?. Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 845-848).
Similar Citations
Book
Mechthild Koreuber;
(2015)
Emmy Noether, die Noether-Schule und die moderne Algebra - | Mechthild Koreuber | Springer
(/isis/citation/CBB818238242/)
Book
Berlinski, David;
(2013)
The King of Infinite Space: Euclid and His Elements
(/isis/citation/CBB001213232/)
Book
Tamara Plakins Thornton;
(2016)
Nathaniel Bowditch and the Power of Numbers: How a Nineteenth-Century Man of Business, Science, and the Sea Changed American Life
(/isis/citation/CBB293511565/)
Article
Bruin, Boudewijn de;
(2009)
Overmathematisation in Game Theory: Pitting the Nash Equilibrium Refinement Programme against the Epistemic Programme
(/isis/citation/CBB000932503/)
Article
Hu, Zuoxuan;
(2003)
Wu Wen-tsun, from topology to mathematics-mechanization
(/isis/citation/CBB000340145/)
Book
Beyer, Kurt W.;
(2009)
Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age
(/isis/citation/CBB000954494/)
Thesis
Ragep, F. Jamil;
Timmons, William Todd;
(2002)
Building the Foundation for an American Mathematical Community: The Bowditch Generation, 1800--1838
(/isis/citation/CBB001562470/)
Thesis
Cunsolo, Ronald Charles;
(2001)
Nathaniel Bowditch: A Biographical Study of the Social Uses of Mathematics
(/isis/citation/CBB001562499/)
Book
Kiple, Kenneth F.;
(2007)
A Movable Feast: Ten Millennia of Food Globalization
(/isis/citation/CBB001422625/)
Article
Tiago Kramer de Oliveira;
(2019)
Cultura geográfica, colonialidade e economia-mundo: o centro da América do Sul nos ‘mapas sertanistas’ (primeira metade do século XVIII)
(/isis/citation/CBB818553036/)
Book
Liz Gunner;
(2019)
Radio Soundings: South Africa and the Black Modern
(/isis/citation/CBB003700829/)
Thesis
Andrew Kettler;
(2017)
Odor and Power in the Americas: Olfactory Consciousness from Columbus to Emancipation
(/isis/citation/CBB345277110/)
Book
Pietro Omodeo;
(2017)
Amerigo Vespucci e l'annuncio del nuovo mondo
(/isis/citation/CBB094677994/)
Book
Matthias Schönhofer;
(2014)
Letters from an American Botanist: The Correspondences of Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Mühlenberg (1753-1815)
(/isis/citation/CBB864326208/)
Book
Berger, Michael L.;
(2001)
The Automobile in American History and Culture: A Reference Guide
(/isis/citation/CBB000101001/)
Book
Osterbrock, Donald E.;
(2001)
Walter Baade: A Life in Astrophysics
(/isis/citation/CBB000101082/)
Book
Walls, Laura Dassow;
(2009)
The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America
(/isis/citation/CBB000952149/)
Book
Becher, Anne;
(2008)
American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present
(/isis/citation/CBB000951754/)
Book
Burdick, Bruce Stanley;
(2009)
Mathematical Works Printed in the Americas, 1554--1700
(/isis/citation/CBB000951045/)
Book
Edwards, Jess;
(2006)
Writing, Geometry, and Space in Seventeenth-Century England and America: Circles in the Sand
(/isis/citation/CBB000771479/)
Be the first to comment!