Mathematics and its history
by John C. Stillwell · first published 1989
88% recommend12% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A well-written tour of mathematics from the ancients to the 20th century, linking analysis, algebraic geometry and number theory through their historical development. Suits curious readers with some university math.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Visual Complex Analysis - Needham. A lot of great pictures, exerything is explained (and shown) geometrically. Complex differentiation/integration, non-Euclidean geometry, vector fields etc. Mathematics and its History - Stillwell. Wonderfully written. From the ancients to the 20th century, covers the mathematics (in a lot of detail) and lives of major mathematicians (potted bios). Concrete Mathematics - Knuth et al.…
on “Ask HN: What's the best textbook you've read?” ↗Mathematics is very broad. You might try something like "Mathematics and its history" by John Stillwell to get some perspective on the subject.
on “Ask HN: Serious mathematics books that can replace a good teacher?” ↗…of recommendations depend on what you're trying to learn. But I've enjoyed the following texts to a larger extent than others: - Algebra: Chapter 0 (Aluffi) - Real Mathematical Analysis (Pugh) - Mathematics and its History (Stillwell) - An Introduction to Manifolds (Tu) - Gauge Fields, Knots and Gravity (Baez) - A First Look at Rigorous Probability Theory (Rosenthal) - All of Statistics (Wasserman) There are some authors…
on “Ask HN: Math books that made you significantly better at math?” ↗You (or others) may like Struik’s A Concise History of Mathematics [1]. It’s also quite easy to read cover-to-cover. My other favorite, Stillwell’s Mathematics and Its History, is excellent as well. In my opinion, Stillwell’s book is better to read as a way to motivate a particular topic, whereas Struik’s book really tries to illustrate the arc of mathematics through history—of…
on “The Princeton Companion to Mathematics [pdf]” ↗Stillwell's _Mathematics and its History_ is, imo, excellent.
on “A Map of Mathematics” ↗Stillwell's Mathematics and Its History.
on “Ask HN: What kind of math do you study in your free time?” ↗Mathematics and Its History by Stillwell might give one a good idea.
on “Echoes of Electromagnetism Found in Number Theory” ↗You would like Mathematics and its History by John Stillwell http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-its-History-John-Stillwell...
on “Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.” ↗…http://www.amazon.com/Keith-Devlin/e/B000APRPC6/ref=ntt_athr... one of which I am reading right now. I like almost every book by John Stillwell http://www.amazon.com/John-Stillwell/e/B001IQWNS2/ref=ntt_at... and especially recommend the latest edition of Mathematics and Its History http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Its-History-Undergraduate-... as a book you should try to obtain from a library to see what a book with challenging, interesting, but accessible problems looks like.…
on “Teaching Kids to Love Math” ↗…actually had a proof for the theorem known as his last theorem, he had plenty of opportunity in his lifetime to find other pieces of paper on which to write it down.) I recall that the current textbook Mathematics and Its History by John Stillwell[1] reviews the history of this topic pretty well. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Its-History-Undergraduate-...
on “How Math's Most Famous Proof Nearly Broke” ↗…Kolmogorov, and Lavrentiev, are pretty fun. Amazon link to the one-volume Dover reprint (but I’d recommend finding a used three-volume hardback copy): http://amzn.com/0486409163 Or check out John Stillwell’s Mathematics and its History: http://amzn.com/144196052X
on “Will Our Understanding of Math Deteriorate Over Time?” ↗…http://eloquentjavascript.net/ Everything by Julia Evans https://jvns.ca/ , Arnold Robbins, Brian Kernighan (e.g. The AWK Programming Language) More mathematical: Knuth et al, Concrete Mathematics; John Stillwell, Mathematics and its History; Tristan Needham, Visual Complex Mathematics
on “Ask HN: Which are the best written tutorials you have seen till now?” ↗…physics. But there are some books that offer a similar perspective to what Feynman tried to achieve, IMHO. I would recommend to look at works by John Stillwell, for example 'Elements of mathematics' or 'Mathematics and its history'. Nathan Carter's 'Visual group theory' also seems an interesting experiment, if you are interested in that part of mathematics, though I have not read it.
on “Ask HN: Are there books for mathematics like Feynman's lectures on physics?” ↗…books that are a joy to read: Polya's How To Solve It is great for 'how to think like a mathematician'. I love Knuth et al's Concrete Mathematics. Discrete maths plus jokes in the margins. Stillwell's Mathematics and its History - meet the main strands of mathematics, their origins, and the great mathematicians. Needham's Visual Complex Analysis - complex functions, differentiation & integration, Möbius transformations, hyperbolic…
on “Ask HN: How to Think Like a mathematician?” ↗I think I would have really enjoyed Mathematics and its History by Stillwell. It does a good job connecting analysis, algebraic geometry and number theory following the historical evolution of modern topics.
on “Ask HN: Recommend a maths book for a teenager?” ↗