Bernhard Riemann 1826-1866: Turning Points in the Conception of Mathematics

Rok: 1999
ISBN: 9780817640408
OKCZID: 110050869

Anotace

The name of Bernhard Riemann is well known to mathematicians and physicists around the world. College students encounter the Riemann integral early in their studies. Real and complex function theories are founded on Riemann's work. Einstein's Theory of Gravitation would be unthinkable without Riemannian Geometry. In number theory, Riemann's famous conjecture stands as one of the classic challenges to the best mathematical minds and continues to stimulate deep mathematical research. The name is indelibly stamped on the literature of mathematics and physics. This book, originally written in German and presented here in an English language translation, is the first attempt to examine Riemann's scientific work from a single unifying perspective. Laugwitz describes Riemann's development of a conceptual approach to mathematics at a time when conventional algorithmic thinking dictated that formulas and figures, rigid constructs, and transformations of terms were the only legitimate means of studying mathematical objects. David Hilbert gave prominence to the Riemannian principle of utilizing thought, not calculation, to achieve proofs. Hermann Weyl interpreted the Riemann principle for mathematics and physics alike to be a matter of "understanding the world through its behavior in the infinitely small." This remarkable work, rich in insight and scholarship, is addressed to mathematicians, physicists, and philosophers interested in mathematics. It seeks to draw those readers closer to the underlying ideas of Riemann's work and to the development of them in their historical context. This illuminating English language version of the original German edition will be an important contribution to the literature of the history of mathematics.

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