Book Reviews

The Best Writing on Mathematics 2020 Edited by Mircea Pitici

Review of The Best Writing on Mathematics 2020, Edited by Mircea Pitici. Available here. Publication date: 29 December 2020 9780691207568 £20.00

This annual anthology brings together the year’s finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field, The Best Writing on Mathematics 2020 makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else—and you don’t need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday aspects of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today’s hottest mathematical debates.

Here, Steven Strogatz reveals how calculus drives advances in virology, Paul Thagard argues that the power of mathematics stems from its combination of realistic and fictional qualities, and Erica Klarreich describes how Hao Huang used the combinatorics of cube nodes to solve a longstanding problem in computer science. In other essays, John Baez tells how he discovered the irresistible attractions of algebraic geometry, Mark Colyvan compares the radically different explanatory practices of mathematics and science, and Boris Odehnal reviews some surprising properties of multidimensional geometries. And there’s much, much more.

In addition to presenting the year’s most memorable writings on mathematics, this must-have anthology includes a bibliography of other notable writings and an introduction by the editor.

The Best Writing on Mathematics 2020 Edited by Mircea Pitici, reviewed

Maths can be joyous, beautiful, and poetic. For those who still have an open mind as to why all of this can be true. This is a great book for those wishing to dip their toes into the wider currents of thought in the wide and varied range of ideas and concepts being explored in and through mathematics.

From previous books we have reviewed at the intersection of physics and maths it is clear that many of the most interesting developments and insights are happening in the areas of interdisciplinary collaboration.  A book like this compilation further serves to nudge, encourage and inspire further breakthroughs in the future.


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