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Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature |  | Author: Marcus Du Sautoy
Publisher: Harper Perennial
List Price: $14.99
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Seller: sherbiebooks
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 193678
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060789417
Dewey Decimal Number: 510
EAN: 9780060789411
ASIN: 0060789417
Publication Date: March 1, 2009
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Product Description
Symmetry is all around us. Of fundamental significance to the way we interpret the world, this unique, pervasive phenomenon indicates a dynamic relationship between objects. Combining a rich historical narrative with his own personal journey as a mathematician, Marcus du Sautoy takes a unique look into the mathematical mind as he explores deep conjectures about symmetry and brings us face-to-face with the oddball mathematicians, both past and present, who have battled to understand symmetry's elusive qualities.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 A Journey through the World of Symmetry September 5, 2009
Janet C. Malone (New York, NY)
Du Sautoy is one of those mathematicians who can do it all. He is the best popularizer of mathematics I have read so far.
I liked the way he introduces the ideas of symmetry throughout the book, one at a time, and shows their beauty and relevance.
Another very cool feature of this book is that it incorporates the author's own personal journey through mathematics and his discoveries along the route of beautiful aspects of symmetry.
Who can resist a guy who takes his young son to museums to show him displays of ancient artifacts and explains their mathematical properties.
This is one great read.
 uneven May 8, 2009
C. Tomlinson (Austin, TX USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had read and enjoyed the author's previous "Music of the Primes" and so gave this new work in the author's research area a read. It was not as coherent and informative as the previous work. There is an attempt to give a glimpse of what it is like to be a working mathematician and a person rather than really delving deeply into the subject matter of finite simple groups and moonshine. For the latter I found Ronan's "Symmetry and the Monster" to be excellent at bringing into view the players and the concepts. As for a portrait of a working mathematician, the present work feels incomplete like the author really hasn't gotten to a stopping point in his research that allows us to understand the journey.
 History of Mathematical Personalities -- not Mathematics April 24, 2009
Roger W. Anderson (Melbourne, Florida United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this book because I hoped to gain a better understanding of group theory evolution. It does an excellent job of introducing symmetry and providing a historical context of its mathematical introduction. After the introductory chapters it goes downhill fast. It does not adequately address the explosive development of group theory during the mid 20th century. A previous NYTimes review also stated that the book described how group theory was instrumental in the development of advanced physics (unified field theory) in the latter 20th century. It mentions only sparingly and superficially the connection between group theory and physics.
In summary it seems to be primarily a history of the mathematical personalities involved in group theory research -- an ego quest, perhaps. The author focuses most of his attention later in the book on personal anecdotes related to 'great' mathematicians he has known.
A history of personalities without a corresponding effective history of the concepts is not worth the time it takes to read.
This Book is on the LeveL March 15, 2009
John Smythe (USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Of the many books on the market today explaining some aspect of science for a general audience this is one of the best. I've read enough books to know that even with an editor (though sometimes I wonder if there was a conscious editor) making a science subject generally approachable is a rare gift.
Dr. Marcus du Sautoy does this using several techniques:
- By relating the story of symmetry through the lives of mathematicians. From the ancient Greeks who were just beginning to understand the nature of prime numbers and first understood the beauty of (what we call) the Platonic Solids, to contemporary group theorists. Along the way filling in important parts contributed by Islamic thinkers in the Golden Age of Islam (esp. al-Khwarizmi) and the Persian Umar al-Khayyami about 200 years later, to the Renaissance and on into the early 18th Century. From there the coverage of personalities is essentially continuous, though by no means complete, right up to the present.
- By relating the story of symmetry through his own life in autobiographical flashbacks and diary-like commentary throughout the year he took to write this book. One of the funnier bits comes near the end of the book where Dr. du Sautoy gives an outline of the typical personalities of professors in mathematics. It seems a predilection with logic and systematization tends to curb empathic and other social functions. Which is to say they are quite the quirky bunch. A condition commonly called Asperger's Syndrome today. Interestingly the three-star review by Michael Hambro highlights this very characteristic by failing to see how others (most others) less gifted in mathematics might be better carried along using these literary techniques. Or in his words, "Would have liked a somewhat more mathematical angle. Chatty about irrelevant and uninteresting family life". Ah, the voice of Asperger's.
- By ignoring the minutia and many numerological dead ends that often plague the daily pursuit of pure mathematics. To be sure we get an inkling of the years of toil and frustration for those who pursue pure mathematics but Dr. du Sautoy spares us the bulk of the tedium.
- By relating symmetry to our daily lives. Especially our general human partiality towards finding beauty or aesthetic pleasure in symmetry. As seen in all mediums of art from architecture to painting to sculpture and to music. Indeed his (all too short) chapter (9th) on music and symmetry is a far better primer on the depth of meaning of music for the human condition than most books devoted to the topic. Dr. du Sautoy makes many other connections for our need of symmetry, some firm, some just a thread, that touch upon subjects as diverse as cosmology to chemistry to subatomic particles.
- And by abjuring Hawking's dictum Dr. du Sautoy has leave to place a few score equations in his book. Some of them are as simple as 1 + 196,883 = 196,884 but many are rather more complex algebraic functions and diagrams. The many economically drawn diagrams definitely help for those of us whose spatial intelligence lies near the norm.
So, if you find yourself interested in mathematics in general and symmetry especially then buy this book and read it.
Dumb me down no more! March 14, 2009
R. Bagula (Lakeside, Ca United States)
1 out of 10 found this review helpful
Actually Marcus du Sautoy says "Let them eat cake?".
Someone who waxes lyrical about Dr. Conway and leaves Dr. Sloane out completely just is not on the same planet with the rest of us?
A guy who calls his best graduate student by only his first name and doesn't realize what an insult to the reader and the graduate student that is?
Sure he may have part of the history right, but he leaves out the gritty part, while he talks down his nose at us.
The reason that the higher groups like the Leech lattice have made so much history is because they are also more than group theory and geometry, they are useful in engineering applications of error -correcting codes.
In mathematics they really don't pay well and it is the ways that the mathematics pays for itself while also being pure and true
that seem important.
So I can't give this book a good review: he is just too glossy and slick for me. Some sort of weird European who thinks he is the next mr big in mathematics maybe? I looked up his recent paper on PORC and it is pretty much unreadable (in saying he is at a higher level?).
Snobs who talk out of two sides of their mouths like this really disgust me. Most people who read this stuff on mathematics want to learn and
appreciate equations and diagrams that teach them,
not preach to them about how far above us the author is?
I'm sitting working in the trenches and looking for help or insight, not a snob who has the history and the math twisted around out of shape?
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
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