The Shape Of A Life

Download or read book The Shape of a Life written by Shing-Tung Yau and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Fields medalist recounts his lifelong effort to uncover the geometric shape—the Calabi-Yau manifold—that may store the hidden dimensions of our universe. Harvard geometer Shing-Tung Yau has provided a mathematical foundation for string theory, offered new insights into black holes, and mathematically demonstrated the stability of our universe. In this autobiography, Yau reflects on his improbable journey to becoming one of the world’s most distinguished mathematicians. Beginning with an impoverished childhood in China and Hong Kong, Yau takes readers through his doctoral studies at Berkeley during the height of the Vietnam War protests, his Fields Medal–winning proof of the Calabi conjecture, his return to China, and his pioneering work in geometric analysis. This new branch of geometry, which Yau built up with his friends and colleagues, has paved the way for solutions to several important and previously intransigent problems. With complicated ideas explained for a broad audience, this book offers not only insights into the life of an eminent mathematician, but also an accessible way to understand advanced and highly abstract concepts in mathematics and theoretical physics. “The remarkable story of one of the world’s most accomplished mathematicians . . . Yau’s personal journey—from escaping China as a youngster, leading a gang outside Hong Kong, becoming captivated by mathematics, to making breakthroughs that thrust him on the world stage—inspires us all with humankind’s irrepressible spirit of discovery.” —Brian Greene, New York Times–bestselling author of The Elegant Universe “An unexpectedly intimate look into a highly accomplished man, his colleagues and friends, the development of a new field of geometric analysis, and a glimpse into a truly uncommon mind.” —The Boston Globe “Engaging, eminently readable. . . . For those with a taste for elegant and largely jargon-free explanations of mathematics, The Shape of a Life promises hours of rewarding reading.” —American Scientist

Download or read book Circles and Lines written by John Demos and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this intimate, engaging book, John Demos offers an illuminating portrait of how colonial Americans, from the first settlers to the postrevolutionary generation, viewed their life experiences. He also offers an invaluable inside look into the craft of a master social historian as he unearths--in sometimes unexpected places--fragments of evidence that help us probe the interior lives of people from the faraway past. The earliest settlers lived in a traditional world of natural cycles that shaped their behavior: day and night; seasonal rhythms; the lunar cycle; the life cycle itself. Indeed, so basic were these elements that "almost no one felt a need to comment on them." Yet he finds cyclical patterns--in the seasonal foods they ate, in the spike in marriages following the autumn harvest. Witchcraft cases reveal the different emotional reactions to day versus night, as accidental mishaps in the light become fearful nighttime mysteries. During the transitional world of the American Revolution, people began to see their society in newer terms but seemed unable or unwilling to come to terms with that novelty. Americans became new, Demos points out, before they fully understood what it meant. Their cyclical frame of reference was coming unmoored, giving way to a linear world view in early nineteenth-century America that is neatly captured by Kentucky doctor Daniel Drake's description of the chronography of his life. In his meditation on these three worlds, Demos brilliantly demonstrates how large historical forces are reflected in individual lives. With the imaginative insights and personable touch that we have come to expect from this fine chronicler of the human condition, "Circles and Lines" is vintage John Demos.

Download or read book Shape written by Jordan Ellenberg and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An instant New York Times Bestseller! “Unreasonably entertaining . . . reveals how geometric thinking can allow for everything from fairer American elections to better pandemic planning.” —The New York Times From the New York Times-bestselling author of How Not to Be Wrong—himself a world-class geometer—a far-ranging exploration of the power of geometry, which turns out to help us think better about practically everything. How should a democracy choose its representatives? How can you stop a pandemic from sweeping the world? How do computers learn to play Go, and why is learning Go so much easier for them than learning to read a sentence? Can ancient Greek proportions predict the stock market? (Sorry, no.) What should your kids learn in school if they really want to learn to think? All these are questions about geometry. For real. If you're like most people, geometry is a sterile and dimly remembered exercise you gladly left behind in the dust of ninth grade, along with your braces and active romantic interest in pop singers. If you recall any of it, it's plodding through a series of miniscule steps only to prove some fact about triangles that was obvious to you in the first place. That's not geometry. Okay, it is geometry, but only a tiny part, which has as much to do with geometry in all its flush modern richness as conjugating a verb has to do with a great novel. Shape reveals the geometry underneath some of the most important scientific, political, and philosophical problems we face. Geometry asks: Where are things? Which things are near each other? How can you get from one thing to another thing? Those are important questions. The word "geometry"comes from the Greek for "measuring the world." If anything, that's an undersell. Geometry doesn't just measure the world—it explains it. Shape shows us how.

Download or read book The Shape of Inner Space written by Shing-Tung Yau and published by Il Saggiatore. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The leading mind behind the mathematics of string theory discusses how geometry explains the universe we see. Illustrations.

Download or read book The Shape of Things written by Dayle Ann Dodds and published by Turtleback Books. This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A square is just a square until it becomes a house in this clever book. A circle becomes a spinning ferris wheel, and when some string and a tail are added, it becomes a kite flying high in the sky. With sprightly rhymes and energetic illustrations, this book reveals that shapes are everywhere. Full color.

Download or read book The Shape of Us written by Lisa Ireland and published by Macmillan Publishers Aus.. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A wonderful story, full of emotional depth and heart." Rachael Johns FOUR DIFFERENT WOMEN. THE SAME BIG PROBLEM. ONE MAGICAL SOLUTION? Mezz is overweight and overworked: she's convinced it's only a matter of time until her husband starts to stray. Jewels is fat and fabulous, but if she wants the baby she craves, the Tim Tams have to go. Ellie's life looks perfect to her London friends on Facebook: she keeps her waistline out of the photos and her loneliness to herself. Kat will do anything to keep her daughter Ami happy and safe. If she can just lose that baby weight, she's sure Ami's dad will stick around. In this heartwarming, heartbreaking story, four women who meet online in a weight loss forum learn that losing weight might not be the key to happiness, but believing in the ones you live - and yourself - just might be. MORE PRAISE FOR THE SHAPE OF US 'Lisa Ireland gets right to the heart of female friendship, exploring topics every woman can relate to.' Rachael Johns, author of The Art of Keeping Secrets 'Every so often a book comes along which captures your thoughts so well it could have been written with you in mind. The Shape of Us is a thought-provoking and perceptive glance into the lives of women (and men) grappling with confidence and self-image problems and the impact it has on their lives.' Queensland Times 'The Shape of Us is a heart-warming, heart-breaking tale of women's friendship.' Daily Examiner 'Will make you both laugh and cry...Lisa Ireland believes people are worth so much more than numbers on a scale or what clothing they can fit into - and her book shows how important that is.' The Weekly Times 'A highly relatable story on many levels...ultimately, a book about friendship and support.' Beauty & Lace

Download or read book Shape of a Boy written by Kate Wickers and published by Aurum. This book was released on 2023-04-04 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shape of a Boy is a hilarious memoir of one family's travels across the world, filled with funny anecdotes from exotic locations.