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jackohagan's review against another edition
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mightysparks's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fbroom's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much! I wanted to highlight everything in. It touched something in me because I too wanted to be a mathematician and then couldn't due to some awful life circumstances. But hey, it motivated me to register for some online math classes. I mean it's not like I will be a mathematician at this old age! I just want to study it for fun or for love!
"mathematics was something infinitely more interesting than solving second-degree equations or calculating the volumes of solids, the menial tasks at which we laboured at school. Its practitioners dwelt in a veritable conceptual heaven, a majestic poetic realm totally inaccessible to the un-mathematical hoi polloi."
"real mathematics has nothing to do with applications, nor with the calculating procedures that you learn at school. It studies abstract intellectual constructs which, at least while the mathematician is occupied with them, do not in any way touch on the physical, sensible world.’"
"‘Mathematicians,’ he continued, ‘find the same enjoyment in their studies that chess players find in chess. In fact, the psychological make-up of the true mathematician is closer to that of the poet or the musical composer, in other words of someone concerned with the creation of Beauty and the search for Harmony and Perfection. He is the polar opposite of the practical man, the engineer, the politician or the"
"Consider the lesson behind this: sometimes things appear simple only in retrospect.’"
"‘Every person has the right to expose himself to whatever disappointment he chooses,’"
"However, for a mathematician to spend time away from the problem at hand is essential. Mentally to digest the work accomplished and process its results at an unconscious level, the mind needs leisure as well as exertion. Invigorating as the investigation of mathematical concepts can be to a calm intellect, it can become intolerable when the brain is overcome by weariness, exhausted by incessant effort."
"The necessary — but not sufficient, mind you — precondition for supreme achievement is single-minded devotion. If you had the gift that you yourself would like to have had, dear boy, you wouldn’t have come asking for my blessing to study mathematics; you would have gone ahead and done it. That was the first tell-tale sign!’"
"Once, I asked him why he had never entered official competition. He shook his head. ‘Why should I strive to become a mediocre professional when I can bask in my status as an exceptional amateur?’"
"I accepted at last the truth of the dictum: Mathematicus nascitur non fit. The true mathematician is born, not made. I had not been born a mathematician and it was just as well that I had given up."
"mathematics was something infinitely more interesting than solving second-degree equations or calculating the volumes of solids, the menial tasks at which we laboured at school. Its practitioners dwelt in a veritable conceptual heaven, a majestic poetic realm totally inaccessible to the un-mathematical hoi polloi."
"real mathematics has nothing to do with applications, nor with the calculating procedures that you learn at school. It studies abstract intellectual constructs which, at least while the mathematician is occupied with them, do not in any way touch on the physical, sensible world.’"
"‘Mathematicians,’ he continued, ‘find the same enjoyment in their studies that chess players find in chess. In fact, the psychological make-up of the true mathematician is closer to that of the poet or the musical composer, in other words of someone concerned with the creation of Beauty and the search for Harmony and Perfection. He is the polar opposite of the practical man, the engineer, the politician or the"
"Consider the lesson behind this: sometimes things appear simple only in retrospect.’"
"‘Every person has the right to expose himself to whatever disappointment he chooses,’"
"However, for a mathematician to spend time away from the problem at hand is essential. Mentally to digest the work accomplished and process its results at an unconscious level, the mind needs leisure as well as exertion. Invigorating as the investigation of mathematical concepts can be to a calm intellect, it can become intolerable when the brain is overcome by weariness, exhausted by incessant effort."
"The necessary — but not sufficient, mind you — precondition for supreme achievement is single-minded devotion. If you had the gift that you yourself would like to have had, dear boy, you wouldn’t have come asking for my blessing to study mathematics; you would have gone ahead and done it. That was the first tell-tale sign!’"
"Once, I asked him why he had never entered official competition. He shook his head. ‘Why should I strive to become a mediocre professional when I can bask in my status as an exceptional amateur?’"
"I accepted at last the truth of the dictum: Mathematicus nascitur non fit. The true mathematician is born, not made. I had not been born a mathematician and it was just as well that I had given up."
mikimeiko's review against another edition
3.0
Una bella storia e una bella matematica, anche se purtroppo non ha particolarmente aumentato il mio amore per i matematici (che già ultimamente si stava un po' affievolendo...)
periklis's review against another edition
5.0
I remember liking this book a lot. It is one of the very few books of the genre that I have enjoyed reading.
lgpiper's review against another edition
4.0
A friend of mine commented that he was feeling insane. The reason had something to do with this book, so naturally, I had to badger my local library into getting me a copy.
This was a book about a man's relationship with his uncle. The uncle was considered by his brothers to have been the family failure. Uncle Petros was a math whiz, who tried to prove one of the most difficult problems of all time, Goldbach's Conjecture, the supposition that all even numbers could be expressed by a sum of two prime numbers. People have done lots of tests to show this holds for very large numbers (this book covers a time before computers) but no one had managed a definitive proof. Uncle Petros tried diligently over several decades, but eventually became dispirited and gave up...or something. The protagonist talks about his attempts to understand better Uncle Petros and his career.
It was a fairly well written book, but I'm not sure how interesting it would be to a non-mathematical person. Since I spent my first couple of years at college thinking I might become a mathematician (and then realized I lacked adequate aptitude, so opted to become a physical chemist instead), I had some sense for what was going on. That being so, I found the book to be a compelling read.
This was a book about a man's relationship with his uncle. The uncle was considered by his brothers to have been the family failure. Uncle Petros was a math whiz, who tried to prove one of the most difficult problems of all time, Goldbach's Conjecture, the supposition that all even numbers could be expressed by a sum of two prime numbers. People have done lots of tests to show this holds for very large numbers (this book covers a time before computers) but no one had managed a definitive proof. Uncle Petros tried diligently over several decades, but eventually became dispirited and gave up...or something. The protagonist talks about his attempts to understand better Uncle Petros and his career.
It was a fairly well written book, but I'm not sure how interesting it would be to a non-mathematical person. Since I spent my first couple of years at college thinking I might become a mathematician (and then realized I lacked adequate aptitude, so opted to become a physical chemist instead), I had some sense for what was going on. That being so, I found the book to be a compelling read.
lazylys's review against another edition
4.0
Un libercolo simpatico e leggero su uno dei problemi irrisolti della matematica (nonché uno dei più semplici da comprendere), la Congettura di Goldbach.
Accessibile a tutti, anche ai non addetti ai lavori, è insieme il racconto di una famiglia, di una ricerca, di una passione e di una ossessione.
Accessibile a tutti, anche ai non addetti ai lavori, è insieme il racconto di una famiglia, di una ricerca, di una passione e di una ossessione.
paracosm's review against another edition
4.0
This is a small but interesting book. The main plot tells the story of a man that spends his entire life trying to solve Goldbach’s Conjecture, one of the most difficult math problems in the world, only to fail at it. The problem states that “every even integer greater than 2 is the sum of two primes” and to this day it’s still unsolved.
Now, let me say that I have not even the slightest clue about math, I don’t even know the table of seven, but regardless of that I still managed to enjoy the book. The author explains important mathematical concepts in a way that it’s very easy to understand and follow. You don’t need any previous knowledge before reading, but if you are a mathematician, or just really like numbers, you are probably going to appreciate it a lot more.
There are also several cameos of famous scientists such as Alan Turin, Robert Oppenheimer, John Edensor Littlewood and Kurt Gödel. All of the theories and most characters that appear are actually real, which demonstrates the research that the author put into the book.
The novel also presents the reader four main moral lessons that one can implement in their daily life. That, combined with the simple characters and short length, gives it a fable-like vibe to it, which is the more interesting once you find out the author is Greek. The four moral lessons are:
1. You don’t have to be the best at something to belong
2. Intermediate and small achievements are valuable and important
3. You should know when to quit
4. You should have realistic goals
I don’t want to explain how and when these morals are explored because I would be basically giving out a summary of the book. Do I recommend this book? Yes, particularly to anyone that likes fables or mathematics.
Now, let me say that I have not even the slightest clue about math, I don’t even know the table of seven, but regardless of that I still managed to enjoy the book. The author explains important mathematical concepts in a way that it’s very easy to understand and follow. You don’t need any previous knowledge before reading, but if you are a mathematician, or just really like numbers, you are probably going to appreciate it a lot more.
There are also several cameos of famous scientists such as Alan Turin, Robert Oppenheimer, John Edensor Littlewood and Kurt Gödel. All of the theories and most characters that appear are actually real, which demonstrates the research that the author put into the book.
The novel also presents the reader four main moral lessons that one can implement in their daily life. That, combined with the simple characters and short length, gives it a fable-like vibe to it, which is the more interesting once you find out the author is Greek. The four moral lessons are:
1. You don’t have to be the best at something to belong
2. Intermediate and small achievements are valuable and important
3. You should know when to quit
4. You should have realistic goals
I don’t want to explain how and when these morals are explored because I would be basically giving out a summary of the book. Do I recommend this book? Yes, particularly to anyone that likes fables or mathematics.