Is mathematics a highly sophisticated intellectual game in which the adepts display their skill by tackling invented problems, or are mathematicians engaged in acts of discovery as they explore an independent realm of mathematical reality? Why does this seemingly abstract discipline provide the key to unlocking the deep secrets of the physical universe? How one answers these qu...(展开全部)

Is mathematics a highly sophisticated intellectual game in which the adepts display their skill by tackling invented problems, or are mathematicians engaged in acts of discovery as they explore an independent realm of mathematical reality? Why does this seemingly abstract discipline provide the key to unlocking the deep secrets of the physical universe? How one answers these qu...(展开全部)

Two veteran math educators demonstrate how some "magnificent mistakes" had profound consequences for our understanding of mathematics' key concepts. In the nineteenth century, English mathematician William Shanks spent fifteen years calculating the value of pi, setting a record for the number of decimal places. Later, his calculation was reproduced using large wooden numerals t...(展开全部)

美国著名数学史家。1934年在弗吉尼亚大学获学士学位，第二年为哈佛硕士，然后在普林斯顿大学继续学习，1948年获俄勒冈州立大学数学博士学位。 20世纪40年代以来，他相继在纽约锡拉丘兹大学、普吉特湾大学和俄勒冈州立大学任教，1954年到新成立的缅因州立大学，直到1976年退休。退休以后，他“像从美国最东的顶点滚下的石头”，从缅因州立大学的Machias和Lubec分校直到东南角的中佛罗里达大学。 他一生写过30本书，200多篇论文。两卷《几何考察》是他的权威著作，而两卷《数学史上的里程碑》是他关于数学历史的43个精彩演讲。 2004年6月6日去世，享年93岁。 {以上资料来源于《数学圈3》中译本序}