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Sangalli

Pythagoras' Revenge

A Mathematical Mystery

Medium: Buch
ISBN: 978-0-691-15019-2
Verlag: Princeton University Press
Erscheinungstermin: 25.07.2011
Lieferfrist: bis zu 10 Tage

The celebrated mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras left no writings. But what if he had and the manuscript was never found? Where would it be located? And what information would it reveal? These questions are the inspiration for the mathematical mystery novel Pythagoras' Revenge. Suspenseful and instructive, Pythagoras' Revenge weaves fact, fiction, mathematics, computer science, and ancient history into a surprising and sophisticated thriller. The intrigue begins when Jule Davidson, a young American mathematician who trolls the internet for difficult math riddles and stumbles upon a neo-Pythagorean sect searching for the promised reincarnation of Pythagoras. Across the ocean, Elmer Galway, a professor of classical history at Oxford, discovers an Arabic manuscript hinting at the existence of an ancient scroll--possibly left by Pythagoras himself. Unknown to one another, Jule and Elmer each have information that the other requires and, as they race to solve the philosophical and mathematical puzzles set before them, their paths ultimately collide. Set in 1998 with flashbacks to classical Greece, Pythagoras' Revenge investigates the confrontation between opposing views of mathematics and reality, and explores ideas from both early and cutting-edge mathematics. From academic Oxford to suburban Chicago and historic Rome, Pythagoras' Revenge is a sophisticated thriller that will grip readers from beginning to surprising end.


Produkteigenschaften


  • Artikelnummer: 9780691150192
  • Medium: Buch
  • ISBN: 978-0-691-15019-2
  • Verlag: Princeton University Press
  • Erscheinungstermin: 25.07.2011
  • Sprache(n): Englisch
  • Auflage: Erscheinungsjahr 2011
  • Produktform: Kartoniert
  • Gewicht: 295 g
  • Seiten: 208
  • Format (B x H x T): 140 x 216 x 13 mm
  • Ausgabetyp: Kein, Unbekannt
Autoren/Hrsg.

Autoren

Arturo Sangalli is a freelance science journalist and writer. He has a PhD in mathematics from the University of Montreal. He is the author of "The Importance of Being Fuzzy: And Other Insights from the Border between Math and Computers" (Princeton) and has contributed many pieces to "New Scientist".

Preface ix

List of Main Characters xi

Prologue xiii

PART I: A TIME CAPSULE?

Chapter 1. The Fifteen Puzzle 3

Chapter 2. The Impossible Manuscript 10

Chapter 3. Game Over 19

Chapter 4. A Trip to London 25

Chapter 5. A Letter from the Past 32

Chapter 6. Found and Lost 38

Chapter 7. A Death in the Family 46

PART II: AN EXTRAORDINARILY GIFTED MAN

Chapter 8. The Mission 53

Chapter 9. Norton Thorp 63

Chapter 10. Random Numbers 69

Chapter 11. Randomness Everywhere 76

Chapter 12. Vanished 82

PART III: A SECT OF NEO-PYTHAGOREANS

Chapter 13. The Mandate 85

Chapter 14. The Beacon 87

Chapter 15. The Team 98

Chapter 16. The Hunt 106

Chapter 17. The Symbol of the Serpent 115

Chapter 18. A Professional Job 122

Chapter 19. With a Little Help from Your Sister 126

PART IV: PYTHAGORAS? MISSION

Chapter 20. All Roads Lead to Rome 139

Chapter 21. Kidnapped 152

Chapter 22. The Last Piece of the Puzzle 158

Epilogue 169

Appendix 1: Jule's Solution 171

Appendix 2: Infi nitely Many Primes 173

Appendix 3: Random Sequences 175

Appendix 4: A Simple Visual Proof of the Pythagorean

Theorem 177

Appendix 5: Perfect and Figured Numbers 178

Notes, Credits, and Bibliographical Sources 181