Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure

(Paperback)

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A passionate story of inspiration, obsession and partnership, as one of the greatest mathematical minds takes us on an imaginative journey through the discovery of a new theorem. "This man could plainly do for mathematics what Brian Cox has done for physics" - Sunday Times How does a genius see the world Where and how does inspiration strike Cedric Villani takes us on a mesmerising adventure as he wrestles with the Boltzmann equation - a new theorem that will eventually win him the most coveted prize in mathematics and a place in the mathematical history books. Along the way he encounters obstacles and setbacks, losses of faith and even brushes with madness. His story is one of courage and partnership, doubt and anxiety, elation and despair. Of ordinary family life blurring with the abstract world of mathematical physics, of theories and equations that haunt your dreams and seeking the elusive inspiration found only in a locked, darkened room. Blending science with history, biography with myth, Villani conjures up an inimitable cast- the omnipresent Einstein, mad genius Kurt Godel, and Villani's personal hero, John Nash. Step inside the magical world of Cedric Villani...

Reviews

Combining poetry, music and formidable sleuthing, the charismatic Cdric Villani skilfully unfolds the complex yet wondrous world of mathematics. Birth of a Theorem inspires and entertains! -- Patti Smith
Cdric Villanis BIRTH OF A THEOREM is like no other book about maths: an unfiltered view into the daily life, and the soul, of a great mathematician, as he approaches and finally conquers a major result -- Jordan Ellenberg
This man could plainly do for mathematics what Brian Cox has done for physics. [Birth of a Theorem] is one of the most peculiar and entertaining science books you will ever read -- Brian Appleyard * Sunday Times *
Villani has written probably the most unlikely unputdownable thriller of the decade -- Richard Morrison * The Times *
A fine book from a brilliant man -- Rod Liddle * Sunday Times *

Author Bio

Cedric Villani is a French mathematician who has received many international awards for his work including the Jacques Herbrand Prize, the Prize of the European Mathematical Society, the Fermat Prize and the Henri Poincare Prize. In 2010 he was awarded the Fields Medal, the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, for his work on Landau damping and the Boltzmann equation. Often called 'the mathematicians' Nobel Prize', it is awarded every four years and is viewed by some as the highest honour a mathematician can achieve. He is a professor at Lyon University and Director of the Institut Henri Poincare in Paris, working primarily on partial differential equations and mathematical physics.