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I ... I don't know about the kind of book mentioned in the article. Maybe they're nice. I honestly wish someone had just dropped the Princeton Companion to Mat

I ... I don't know about the kind of book mentioned in the article. Maybe they're nice. I honestly wish someone had just dropped the Princeton Companion to Mathematics in my lap a decade or two ago: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691118802/the-princeton-companion-to-mathematics https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691118802/th... It's beautifully written. The words jump off the page.

noelwelsh 7y ago
I haven't read that book, but I do have three books from Princeton Press on the intersection of math and art and they are all lovely in different ways. [Creating Symmetry][1]is the one I've made the most progress through and I highly recommend it. The author describes it as a postmodern mathematics book, where the voice of the author is present. I want more postmodern mathematics books. [1]: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691161730/creating-symmetry https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691161730/cr...
indigochill 7y ago
Am I wrong in understanding it's something like a math encyclopedia? The concept from the description sounds interesting, but I wonder if someone who only sort of made it through Calc 1 (but with a casual interest in going further) would get enough out of it to justify the price tag.
- AnthonBerg 7y ago
  It's a lot less like an encyclopedia than I thought it would be! It's maths, but in the form of an exposition as close to prose as possible. To be honest I got goosebumps reading it. I found it worth the price. I'm fairly certain it would be worth anyone's time to find a copy in a library to take a look at.
copperx 7y ago
I've ogled that book at Barnes and Noble for a few years now but was never sure whether it was meant for professional mathematicians (the volume is saran-wrapped). Thank you for enticing me to buy it.
mcguire 7y ago
Some of the books on the list are detailed examinations of the history of particular math advances. I haven't read the Princeton Companion, but if it's less than 10,000 pages, I don't imagine you will get those in detail. Others, like the Gardiner and Graham-Diaconis books, are applications of math ideas to, typically, odd topics. Like an example, but with more focus.
JadeNB 7y ago
Since there are a lot of comments here from people who were interested in PCM but not sure about buying it, I'd like to remind everyone that, if you have access to a university library, then it'll definitely have it; and your public library might not have the book, but can probably get it by ILL (a badly undervalued resource, in my experience). A lot of contributions are also available from their individual authors online. Its editor, Timothy Gowers, also has a very nice blog https://gowers.wordpress.com https://gowers.wordpress.com which is worth reading by specialists and non-specialists alike. (However, as brilliant as Gowers is, I think neither he nor anyone else could have dropped the book in your lap two decades ago, before it was compiled. :-) )

noelwelsh 7y ago

I haven't read that book, but I do have three books from Princeton Press on the intersection of math and art and they are all lovely in different ways. [Creating Symmetry][1]is the one I've made the most progress through and I highly recommend it. The author describes it as a postmodern mathematics book, where the voice of the author is present. I want more postmodern mathematics books. [1]: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691161730/creating-symmetry https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691161730/cr...

indigochill 7y ago

Am I wrong in understanding it's something like a math encyclopedia? The concept from the description sounds interesting, but I wonder if someone who only sort of made it through Calc 1 (but with a casual interest in going further) would get enough out of it to justify the price tag.

AnthonBerg 7y ago
It's a lot less like an encyclopedia than I thought it would be! It's maths, but in the form of an exposition as close to prose as possible. To be honest I got goosebumps reading it. I found it worth the price. I'm fairly certain it would be worth anyone's time to find a copy in a library to take a look at.

copperx 7y ago

I've ogled that book at Barnes and Noble for a few years now but was never sure whether it was meant for professional mathematicians (the volume is saran-wrapped). Thank you for enticing me to buy it.

mcguire 7y ago

Some of the books on the list are detailed examinations of the history of particular math advances. I haven't read the Princeton Companion, but if it's less than 10,000 pages, I don't imagine you will get those in detail. Others, like the Gardiner and Graham-Diaconis books, are applications of math ideas to, typically, odd topics. Like an example, but with more focus.

JadeNB 7y ago

Since there are a lot of comments here from people who were interested in PCM but not sure about buying it, I'd like to remind everyone that, if you have access to a university library, then it'll definitely have it; and your public library might not have the book, but can probably get it by ILL (a badly undervalued resource, in my experience). A lot of contributions are also available from their individual authors online. Its editor, Timothy Gowers, also has a very nice blog https://gowers.wordpress.com https://gowers.wordpress.com which is worth reading by specialists and non-specialists alike. (However, as brilliant as Gowers is, I think neither he nor anyone else could have dropped the book in your lap two decades ago, before it was compiled. :-) )