Love and Math

The Heart of Hidden Reality

2013 Edward Frenkel

Edward Frenkel is a 46yo Russian expatriate mathematician, currently teaching at Berkeley, working on the "Langlands Program", the unification of Number Theory, Curves over Finite Fields, and Reimann Surfaces. Wile's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem is discussed as an example of the combination of the first two.

This book is a combination of autobiography and descriptions of some complex mathematical thinking - it is more about the intellectual journey from young physics enthusiast to mathematical researcher, not a lucid explanation of the math. I suppose if you read it slowly, twice, you will have a basic understanding of some extremely challenging math. I did not do the hard work, but some of you might.

I enjoyed the book. I expect many but not all mathematicians will. Some might be frustrated by not fully understanding the subject matter. Others might find the autobiographical content too personal.

My lazy tendency is to throw stuff against the wall of my brain and see what sticks - a surprising amount does, even if I don't think I understand it at the time. Enough remains to combine with ideas from other areas, or to research in depth if needed. If you are more methodical than I am, you may not like the book. It will show you the promised land in the distance, but not take you there.