Finding Moonshine
A Mathematicians Journey Through Symmetry
by Marcus du Sautoy · first published 2008
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"Marcus du Sautoy journeys from the pyramid to the football, from fundamental particles to our ideas of art, from insect life to architecture, from computer science to psychology, and explores what is perhaps the most significant concept in mathematics. He shows that symmetry is at the basis of communication and evolutionary biology; at the very heart of life. And he brings us face to face with the oddball mathematicians, both past and present, who have battled to understand symmetry's elusive qualities."--Jacket.
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If you find this kind of thing compelling, I recommend 'Finding Moonshine' by Marcus Du Sautoy. I mostly enjoyed it for the anecdotes about John Conway, but in any case, it's a good layperson book about mathematics, symmetry, monstrous objects and pretty things.
on “Ancient Islamic Penrose Tiles (2007)” ↗…what kinds of things working mathematicians actually think about: - Colossal Book of Mathematics by Martin Gardner: Uses games and recreational math to introduce areas like group theory and topology. - Finding Moonshine by Marcus Du Sautoy: Tells the story of the unexpected connection between two areas of math that, on the surface, seem to be completely unrelated. - The Great Mathematical Problems by Ian Stewart: Does…
on “Ask HN: Casual Math Book Suggestions” ↗