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A review by rafaela_borges
Hilbert by Constance Reid
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
The writing is a bit dry at times, but the author, who isn't a mathematician (though she's the sister of one), seems to have understood well the scope and importance of Hilbert's work. Obviously, since I don't understand mathematics, I couldn't take advantage of that, but it's a good read for those interested in the subject. Still, the reading was worthwhile even for someone like me, who has never solved a logarithm problem correctly in their life lol
But what surprised me the most was how Reid managed to transport me to Germany from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. It was fascinating to see how the country achieved so much scientific progress during such a troubled period marked by wars and other social and political issues. However, the end of the book is depressing because Hilbert passed away near the beginning of World War II and had to spend his last years watching the math department being dismantled by the rise of Nazism and his friends and colleagues being fired and forced to seek refuge in other countries (not to mention those who died of old age, like Klein, or illness, like his best friend Minkowski, who died about 4 decades before Hilbert). It was sad to read about how empty his funeral was because of this.
Anyway, I also liked learning more about other mathematicians connected to Hilbert, like Felix Klein, Minkowski, Weyl, Courant (who was the subject of another biography by the same author)... I loved how Hilbert defended the hiring of the extraordinary Emmy Noether against the sexism of the time (saying something like "this is not a bathhouse"). I particularly enjoyed Hilbert's acid humor, for which he was well known.
The reading was certainly worthwhile and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about mathematicians of the past and perhaps also about German history 🙂
But what surprised me the most was how Reid managed to transport me to Germany from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. It was fascinating to see how the country achieved so much scientific progress during such a troubled period marked by wars and other social and political issues. However, the end of the book is depressing because Hilbert passed away near the beginning of World War II and had to spend his last years watching the math department being dismantled by the rise of Nazism and his friends and colleagues being fired and forced to seek refuge in other countries (not to mention those who died of old age, like Klein, or illness, like his best friend Minkowski, who died about 4 decades before Hilbert). It was sad to read about how empty his funeral was because of this.
Anyway, I also liked learning more about other mathematicians connected to Hilbert, like Felix Klein, Minkowski, Weyl, Courant (who was the subject of another biography by the same author)... I loved how Hilbert defended the hiring of the extraordinary Emmy Noether against the sexism of the time (saying something like "this is not a bathhouse"). I particularly enjoyed Hilbert's acid humor, for which he was well known.
The reading was certainly worthwhile and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about mathematicians of the past and perhaps also about German history 🙂