G. H. Hardy was one of this century's finest mathematical thinkers, renowned among his contemporaries as a 'real mathematician ... the purest of the pure'. He was also, as C. P. Snow recounts in his Foreword, 'unorthodox, eccentric, radical, ready to talk about anything'. This 'apology', written in 1940 as his mathematical powers were declining, offers a brilliant and engaging account of mathematics as very much more than a science; when it was first published, Graham Greene hailed it alongside Henry James's notebooks as ...
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G. H. Hardy was one of this century's finest mathematical thinkers, renowned among his contemporaries as a 'real mathematician ... the purest of the pure'. He was also, as C. P. Snow recounts in his Foreword, 'unorthodox, eccentric, radical, ready to talk about anything'. This 'apology', written in 1940 as his mathematical powers were declining, offers a brilliant and engaging account of mathematics as very much more than a science; when it was first published, Graham Greene hailed it alongside Henry James's notebooks as 'the best account of what it was like to be a creative artist'. C. P. Snow's Foreword gives sympathetic and witty insights into Hardy's life, with its rich store of anecdotes concerning his collaboration with the brilliant Indian mathematician Ramanujan, his aphorisms and idiosyncrasies, and his passion for cricket. This is a unique account of the fascination of mathematics and of one of its most compelling exponents in modern times.
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This book contains the longest forward I have ever encountered, and the forward is worth the price of the book. The thoughts and history of these 20th century events will fascinate anyone with an interest in math.
AdeshKSeuraj
Jul 9, 2009
What is the cause for which we live humbly?,
For Hardy, it was Mathematical Creativity. His last great work, "A Mathematician's Apology" represents one man's dissolution and subsequent crystallization of lament, despair, and acceptance: the same that will inevitably veil us all, perhaps not though, to the same extent. I believe Hardy's trepidations surrounding death had less to do with corporeal existence than acknowledging the slow demise of his postcard universe of a bygone Cambridge - that Ivory Tower teeming with the greatest minds of his generation, all players in the graceful game of numbers.
Credit must also be given to C.P Snow. His foreword to the Author, forestalls any bias we may have before Hardy makes his personal introduction, and Snow is careful not to daub exaggerations or hypocritical praises, balancing sixteen years of acquaintanceship quite comprehensively in his short introduction. His part, though asymmetric in comparision with Hardy's, is nonetheless equally important
