Mathematical Apocrypha: Stories and Anecdotes of Mathematicians and the Mathematical (Spectrum)

Mathematical Apocrypha is a book of stories about mathematicians and the mathematical. It differs from other books of its kind in that it includes many stories about contemporary mathematicians. Many of these stories are derived from the author's direct or second-hand experience and have never before appeared in print. The stories are told in a brisk and engaging style and are enhanced by numerous photographs. These stories convey the nature of mathematical enterprise, and give the reader a glimpse of mathematical culture. The author says in the Preface: I have spent my entire adult life hanging around academics and have never encountered a group that is so hell-bent on telling stories about each other as are mathematicians. With this book, I plant my flag as a storyteller. The theme of the book is strictly mathematical. Some of the stories, however, are about people who adhere to mathematics but cannot strictly be called mathematicians. Included are stories about Bertrand Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, and Albert Einstein, along with stories about mathematicians Erdos, Doob, Besicovitch, Atiyah, Wiener, Mary Ellen and Walter Rudin, Polya, Halmos, Littlewood and many, many more legendary mathematicians. This book will appeal to students from high school through graduate school, to faculty), and to mathematical scientists of all stripes, and also to physicists, engineers, and anyone interested in mathematics. This book contains a collection of tales about mathematicians and the mathematical, derived from the author's experience. It shares with the reader the nature of the mathematical enterprise, and gives a glimpse of mathematical culture. The book brings legendary names to life, and shares little known stories about names we have heard all our lives. The book is written in a brisk and engaging manner and it also includes a number of attractive photographs and illustrations. With the story of David Hilbert perplexedly asking a colleague, "What is a Hilbert space?' being a typical example, this work presents anecdotes about the practice of mathematics that range in tone from humorous to celebratory. The anecdotes are arranged under sections devoted to great foolishness, great affrontery, great ideas, great failures, great pranks, and great people George Mackey (1916- ) was with a group of other mathematicians on the free afternoon of a conference in New Mexico. Steven G. Krantz. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 207-208) And Index.