Steven Strogatz – författare

Shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2019A magisterial history of calculus (and the people behind it) from one of the world's foremost mathematicians.This is the captivating story of mathematics' greatest ever idea: calculus. Without it, there would be no computers, no microwave ovens, no GPS, and no space travel. But before it gave modern man almost infinite powers, calculus was behind centuries of controversy, competition, and even death. Taking us on a thrilling journey through three millennia, professor Steven Strogatz charts the development of this seminal achievement from the days of Archimedes to today's breakthroughs in chaos theory and artificial intelligence. Filled with idiosyncratic characters from Pythagoras to Fourier, Infinite Powers is a compelling human drama that reveals the legacy of calculus on nearly every aspect of modern civilisation, including science, politics, medicine, philosophy, and much besides.

The Calculus of Friendship is the story of an extraordinary connection between a teacher and a student, as chronicled through more than thirty years of letters between them. What makes their relationship unique is that it is based almost entirely on a shared love of calculus. For them, calculus is more than a branch of mathematics; it is a game they love playing together, a constant when all else is in flux. The teacher goes from the prime of his career to retirement, competes in whitewater kayaking at the international level, and loses a son. The student matures from high school math whiz to Ivy League professor, suffers the sudden death of a parent, and blunders into a marriage destined to fail. Yet through it all they take refuge in the haven of calculus--until a day comes when calculus is no longer enough. Like calculus itself, The Calculus of Friendship is an exploration of change. It's about the transformation that takes place in a student's heart, as he and his teacher reverse roles, as they age, as they are buffeted by life itself. Written by a renowned teacher and communicator of mathematics, The Calculus of Friendship is warm, intimate, and deeply moving.The most inspiring ideas of calculus, differential equations, and chaos theory are explained through metaphors, images, and anecdotes in a way that all readers will find beautiful, and even poignant. Math enthusiasts, from high school students to professionals, will delight in the offbeat problems and lucid explanations in the letters. For anyone whose life has been changed by a mentor, The Calculus of Friendship will be an unforgettable journey.

Imagine every photo on your phone, every movie you stream, and every secure credit card transaction you make online. Big Math (i.e., linear algebra) is operating under the hood for each of these everyday miracles. It is:- The mathematical machinery that compresses images so they can be quickly uploaded to Instagram.- The secret sauce behind Netflix to recommend your next favorite show. - The sentinel that encrypts your data to keep it safe from prying eyes.- The force behind Google's search algorithm allowing you to sift through the vastness of the internet with a few keystrokes.The brainpower enabling the AI revolution, from self-driving cars to large language models like ChatGPT.Big math provides the concepts and algorithms needed in today's digital world. Yet Big Math isn't limited to practical applications. It promotes a broader, multi-dimensional thinking style critical for solving problems in all walks of life. It teaches us to see and manipulate relationships in a cloud of numbers, understand structures and patterns, and simplify complex problems into manageable pieces. This skill set is invaluable for scientists, engineers, programmers, entrepreneurs, financial quants, and anyone who deals with the colossal amounts of data that define our information-saturated age.BIG MATH is the first book to introduce linear algebra to a non-technical audience - exploring what it is, who created it, and why it matters.