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97emilylc's review
slow-paced
2.0
Bloated mess with the odd gross lecherous comment, very off putting. The author came across very self important and arrogant.
gautamgopalk's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.0
Written in French by world famous mathematician, Cédric Villani, and translated to English with additional corrections and clarification, Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure is a haphazard collection of thoughts about the author's mathematical journey to winning the Fields medal. This book was published a few years after the author received the Fields medal in 2010. The main issue with the book seems to be the intended audience. It tries to appeal to a wide range of people and seems to spectacularly miss almost everyone.
There are some nice illustrations of mathematicians and some passages in the book shed a light on the daily workings of an acclaimed mathematician. There are whole sections of email correspondences and mathematical theorems which are terse and pointless as far as the story telling goes. It doesn't feel like an enjoyable read.
There are some nice illustrations of mathematicians and some passages in the book shed a light on the daily workings of an acclaimed mathematician. There are whole sections of email correspondences and mathematical theorems which are terse and pointless as far as the story telling goes. It doesn't feel like an enjoyable read.
akhiljalan's review
5.0
What can I say? I love mathematics and I love Cedric Villani. If you have ever felt the joy of mathematical discovery you will love this book; and even if you haven't, there's a good chance that you still will!
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
The best portrait of what it means to do research--especially abstract mathematical research--that I have ever read. It might even top [a:G.H. Hardy|313252|G.H. Hardy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225555356p2/313252.jpg]'s [b:A Mathematician's Apology|154060|A Mathematician's Apology|G.H. Hardy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348629338s/154060.jpg|1486751].
Cédric Villani does not tell but instead shows. Specifically, through a combination of diary entries, reprinted emails, and other material, he shows the almost daily process of collaboration that over the period of about a year led from a rough idea to a published paper. The progress depends on his own curiosity, his talks with colleagues--whether it is someone down the hall who notices a link in an equation on his whiteboard or the brutal comments he gets from seminars and referees. And his progress depends on lots and lots of work, dead ends, and returning to basics in new areas.
I say that Villani shows but not tells because he makes no attempt at all to simplify any of the complex mathematical language and even includes pages and pages of equations. There is no expectation that the reader will come close to following these (in fact, he writes that even mathematicians outside of his speciality would not follow most of it). But that is not the point. The book does not leave you thinking that you understand mathematics in general or even the theorem that he spends 250 pages discussing--I still have only a faint idea of what it is about and an even fainter idea of how it was proven. But the book does leave you with a much better understanding of how math is done.
The book also has a certain poetry to it, highlighted by the fact that it is literally interspersed with the occasional poem or discussion of the manga or Neil Gaiman that Villani is reading. But even these interludes are as much about how the mind can and can't switch between topics as it is about the topic Villani is switching to.
Cédric Villani does not tell but instead shows. Specifically, through a combination of diary entries, reprinted emails, and other material, he shows the almost daily process of collaboration that over the period of about a year led from a rough idea to a published paper. The progress depends on his own curiosity, his talks with colleagues--whether it is someone down the hall who notices a link in an equation on his whiteboard or the brutal comments he gets from seminars and referees. And his progress depends on lots and lots of work, dead ends, and returning to basics in new areas.
I say that Villani shows but not tells because he makes no attempt at all to simplify any of the complex mathematical language and even includes pages and pages of equations. There is no expectation that the reader will come close to following these (in fact, he writes that even mathematicians outside of his speciality would not follow most of it). But that is not the point. The book does not leave you thinking that you understand mathematics in general or even the theorem that he spends 250 pages discussing--I still have only a faint idea of what it is about and an even fainter idea of how it was proven. But the book does leave you with a much better understanding of how math is done.
The book also has a certain poetry to it, highlighted by the fact that it is literally interspersed with the occasional poem or discussion of the manga or Neil Gaiman that Villani is reading. But even these interludes are as much about how the mind can and can't switch between topics as it is about the topic Villani is switching to.
annabanana96's review
4.0
This book shows the reader the unknown world of mathematicians and physicists, exploring unsolved mathematical and physical problems.
For me, someone whose mathematical education ended after school, this was a fascinating insight with none of the dreaded dryness. Villani allows us to participate in his daily thoughts and fears, his love for music and his family life. The goal, which he pursues, is already introduced in the beginning: Winning the Fields Medal and the tension of achieving this goal is kept throughout the novel. Furthermore, the question whether his theory proves right after all the backfires kept me reading.
I enjoyed accompanying Villani from France, to the US (Princeton) and finally even India. Notable mathematicians are introduced throughout the novel and shown in their "natural" academic habitat. We get to know their story and accomplishments.
I find Villani's style of writing poetic and enjoyed the poems and pictures in the book as well as his dry humor.
However, one should not assume this book to be like Hawking's popular books. The mathematical concepts are not explained for the casual reader and laymen. There are pages full of highly complicated formulas which I didn't even try to understand, as I didn't know what half of the symbols meant. So, don't expect to actually understand Villani's theory or any of the other without doing a lot of research. Also, there were French and English passages in my German edition. Unless you're reading the book in English, you should be aware of this.
For me, someone whose mathematical education ended after school, this was a fascinating insight with none of the dreaded dryness. Villani allows us to participate in his daily thoughts and fears, his love for music and his family life. The goal, which he pursues, is already introduced in the beginning: Winning the Fields Medal and the tension of achieving this goal is kept throughout the novel. Furthermore, the question whether his theory proves right after all the backfires kept me reading.
I enjoyed accompanying Villani from France, to the US (Princeton) and finally even India. Notable mathematicians are introduced throughout the novel and shown in their "natural" academic habitat. We get to know their story and accomplishments.
I find Villani's style of writing poetic and enjoyed the poems and pictures in the book as well as his dry humor.
However, one should not assume this book to be like Hawking's popular books. The mathematical concepts are not explained for the casual reader and laymen. There are pages full of highly complicated formulas which I didn't even try to understand, as I didn't know what half of the symbols meant. So, don't expect to actually understand Villani's theory or any of the other without doing a lot of research. Also, there were French and English passages in my German edition. Unless you're reading the book in English, you should be aware of this.
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
4.0
Cartea pe care tocmai aţi deschis-o e una stranie. Inclasabilă. Nu e roman, deci nu trebuie citită cu exigenţe literare. Nu e autobiografie, aşa că strictă autenticitate nu-i cereţi. Piesă de teatru de-ar fi, i s-ar spune „docudramă“. Dar e scrisă în proză, nu-i piesă de teatru (ceea ce nu înseamnă că n-ar putea fi uşor dramatizată sau transformată în scenariu de film). Atunci ce e? E o mărturie scrisă sub forma unui jurnal, dar cu evidentă finalitate, scrisă din amintiri, deci nu e chiar un jurnal adevărat. E povestea unui an din viaţa unui matematician de vârf, anul dinaintea primirii Medaliei Fields (echivalentul, în matematică, al Premiului Nobel). E descrierea căutărilor care au dus, într-un final fericit, dar pe care nimeni nu-l putea bănui de la început, la demonstrarea unei teoreme importante. Recompensa a fost cea mai prestigioasă din matematică.
davidr's review
1.0
This book contains memoirs of a mathematician, Cedric Villani, a recipient of the Fields medal. Originally written in French, I read a version that has been translated into English. The translation seems to be excellent. VIllani collaborated with Clement Mouhot, to derive and prove a theorem related to Landau damping. This is not a pure-mathematics theorem. It is based on a real physical phenomenon that occurs in plasmas. So, it is of great interest to physicists, as well to mathematicians.
The main problem with this book, is that the author does not know who its reader should be. Should the reader be a professional mathematician? Perhaps, but then why would half of the book be devoted to an exploration of how a mathematician works day-to-day? Mathematicians already know that.
Should the reader be an informed layman, with some interest in mathematics? In that case, why are there so many pages scattered throughout the book, filled with very esoteric formulas that only a true expert will understand. Many full pages in the book are filled with equations like this:
The words that accompany these pages are not of any help in understanding the equations.
The book also contains many pages of e-mail correspondence, mostly between Villani and Mouhot. This correspondence sheds a little bit of light on how a mathematician might operate during a collaboration. But again, unless you are a professional mathematician, you don't stand a chance in understanding most of the correspondence.
And besides all this, the author makes no effort at all to explain Landau damping, let alone its relationship to his theorem. Landau damping is a real physical phenomenon, with applications in several areas of physics. But having read the book, I still have no idea what it is all about. A quick glance at Wikipedia helps to understand it. But, the book does not even devote a single paragraph to explain what it is about.
The main problem with this book, is that the author does not know who its reader should be. Should the reader be a professional mathematician? Perhaps, but then why would half of the book be devoted to an exploration of how a mathematician works day-to-day? Mathematicians already know that.
Should the reader be an informed layman, with some interest in mathematics? In that case, why are there so many pages scattered throughout the book, filled with very esoteric formulas that only a true expert will understand. Many full pages in the book are filled with equations like this:
The words that accompany these pages are not of any help in understanding the equations.The book also contains many pages of e-mail correspondence, mostly between Villani and Mouhot. This correspondence sheds a little bit of light on how a mathematician might operate during a collaboration. But again, unless you are a professional mathematician, you don't stand a chance in understanding most of the correspondence.
And besides all this, the author makes no effort at all to explain Landau damping, let alone its relationship to his theorem. Landau damping is a real physical phenomenon, with applications in several areas of physics. But having read the book, I still have no idea what it is all about. A quick glance at Wikipedia helps to understand it. But, the book does not even devote a single paragraph to explain what it is about.
isovector's review against another edition
3.0
Short and sweet. I would have liked there to be more technical stuff (or at least, some explanation of what the technical stuff was), but hey, what can you expect for a popular autobiography? I'd recommend it.