The prime number conspiracy : the biggest ideas in math from quanta
(2019)

Nonfiction

eAudiobook

Provider: hoopla

Details

PUBLISHED
[United States] : Tantor Audio, 2019
Made available through hoopla
EDITION
Unabridged
DESCRIPTION

1 online resource (1 audio file (10hr., 01 min.)) : digital

ISBN/ISSN
9781515930501 (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) MWT12354025, 1515930505 (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) 12354025
LANGUAGE
English
NOTES

Narrated by Bob Souer

These stories from Quanta Magazine map the routes of mathematical exploration, showing readers how cutting-edge research is done, while illuminating the productive tension between conjecture and proof, theory and intuition. Listeners of The Prime Number Conspiracy, says Quanta editor-in-chief Thomas Lin, are headed on "breathtaking intellectual journeys to the bleeding edge of discovery strapped to the narrative rocket of humanity's never-ending pursuit of knowledge." Quanta is the only popular publication that offers in-depth coverage of the latest breakthroughs in understanding our mathematical universe. It communicates mathematics by taking it seriously, wrestling with difficult concepts and clearly explaining them in a way that speaks to our innate curiosity about our world and ourselves. Listeners of this volume will learn that prime numbers have decided preferences about the final digits of the primes that immediately follow them (the "conspiracy" of the title); consider whether math is the universal language of nature (allowing for "a unified theory of randomness"); discover surprising solutions (including a pentagon tiling proof that solves a century-old math problem); ponder the limits of computation; measure infinity; and explore the eternal question "Is mathematics good for you?"

Mode of access: World Wide Web

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