Letters to a young mathematician
by Ian Stewart · first published 2006
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, accessible letters on what mathematics is and how mathematicians think, including philosophy and the research process; often cited as an easy read for students weighing a maths major or facing math anxiety.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Letters to a Young Mathematician tells readers what Ian Stewart wishes he had known when he was a student. He takes up subjects from the philosophical to the practical - what mathematics is and why it's worth doing, the relationship between logic and proof, the role of beauty in mathematical thinking, the future of mathematics, how to deal with the peculiarities of the mathematical community, and many others - in a style that combines subtle, easygoing humor with a talent for cutting to the heart of the matter"--Jacket.
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…nature of the book is practicality. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: A reread. A bit depressing considering the state of the world today. I found myself wondering which reality would be preferable. Letters to a Young Mathematician by Ian Stewart: Easy, but fruitful read. I've struggled a lot with math confidence, and this helped alleviate a lot of that. How to Speak, How to Listen by Mortimer J. Adler: A lot of practical advice.…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…library the other day and the stacks and stacks of journals dating from the 1700's and from various parts of the globe made me realize just how much math is out there. Still, like Ian Stewart said in his "Letters to a Young Mathematician", math is an inverted pyramid - when a problem is solved, it leads to more branches to be solved. So maybe breakthroughs are possible from a determined amateur.
on “Both geniuses and madmen pay attention to what others ignore” ↗I recommend Ian Stewart's Letters to a Young Mathematician. He addresses your question (Platonism vs formalism) pretty succinctly, in my opinion as a noob. Accordingly "the working philosophy of most mathematicians is a mostly unexamined Platonist-Formalist…
on “What is it like to understand advanced mathematics?” ↗…It's not a technical book but gave me my first idea of what mathematicians actually do and how the process works. This book motivated me to major in maths. Anything by Ian Stewart would also be good, 'Letters to a Young Mathematician' springs to mind. Given that you use the word 'maths' with an s I'm guessing you're not American. If you're British like me, I would recommend avoiding American books for high schoolers because they…
on “Ask HN: Recommend a maths book for a teenager?” ↗How was The Autobiography of Gucci Mane? Was it interesting, inspiring, funny, etc? It seems like a huge change of pace from the other books haha. I’ve also read Letters to a Young Mathematician and it honestly one of the reasons I was able to survive my math classes (mentally) when I was in school.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…more than 30 subfields. The larger culture, I believe, suffers when intellectuals turn inward." This is very much what Ian Stewart has lamented about the field of math. In one of his books (I think "Letters to a Young Mathematician") he mentions that there are now a vast multitude of journals that publish work about math, but that the field now consists of narrow specialists who are unable to understand each others work. Considering…
on “The Latest Intellectuals” ↗