
In 2013, a little known mathematician in his late 50s stunned the mathematical community with a breakthrough on an age-old problem about prime numbers. Since then, there has been further dramatic progress on the problem, thanks to the efforts of a large-scale online collaborative effort of a type that would have been unthinkable in mathematics a couple of decades ago, and the insight and creativity of a young mathematician at the start of his career. Prime numbers have intrigued, inspired and infuriated mathematicians for millennia. Every school student studies prime numbers and can appreciate their beauty, and yet mathematicians' difficulty with answering some seemingly simple questions about them reveals the depth and subtlety of prime numbers. Vicky Neale charts the recent progress towards proving the famous Twin Primes Conjecture, and the very different ways in which the breakthroughs have been made: a solo mathematician working in isolation and obscurity, and a large collaboration that is more public than any previous collaborative effort in mathematics and that reveals much about how mathematicians go about their work. Interleaved with this story are highlights from a significantly older tale, going back two thousand years and more, of mathematicians' efforts to comprehend the beauty and unlock the mysteries of the prime numbers.
This book investigates the recent, rapid advancements in the study of prime numbers, specifically focusing on the Twin Primes Conjecture. Vicky Neale, a mathematician and educator, utilizes her expertise to synthesize the history of prime number theory with the modern, collaborative methods that led to recent breakthroughs. She argues that the evolution of mathematical research—from solitary efforts to large-scale, open-source collaborations—represents a significant shift in how complex problems are solved in the 21st century.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts and readers alike praise the book for its ability to make complex mathematical concepts accessible to a general audience without sacrificing technical accuracy. The text is frequently cited as a clear, engaging introduction to the modern culture of mathematical research and the collaborative nature of contemporary discovery.
Page Count:
208
Publication Date:
2017-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191092436
ISBN-13:
9780191092435
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