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Books

Poincaré’s Prize by George G. Szpiro

David Dillard-Wright is philosophical about mathematics.

The mere mention of mathematics leads many people to roll their eyes and drift off to sleep. The idea that a history of mathematics could be, of all things, a fun read, might sound like a contradiction in terms. Oddly enough, George G. Szpiro has accomplished exactly that in Poincaré’s Prize: The Hundred Year Quest to Solve One of Math’s Greatest Puzzles. Leibniz said that “Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.

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