In Pursuit of the Unknown

Buchzusammenfassung

Stewart is professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Warwick, England, and fellow of the Royal Society. His main mathematical interests are Lie algebras and the theory of dynamical systems and its connection to chaos theory and biology. He is the author of several popular science books including Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of Chaos and Why Beauty Is Truth: A History of Symmetry.

The Pythagorean theorem, though seemingly simple, has profoundly influenced geometry, enabling calculations of polygonal shapes and revolutionizing cartography through triangulation. Its extensions allow exploration of curved spaces, aiding in measuring Earth's dimensions and assessing the universe's curvature. Quantum theory, rooted in Schrödinger's equation, redefined our understanding of matter and energy at microscopic scales, explaining wave-particle duality and underpinning modern technologies like semiconductors. Newton’s law of gravitation, while superseded by Einstein’s relativity, remains vital for practical applications like space exploration and GPS. The Black-Scholes equation transformed finance by enabling accurate derivative pricing, though its limitations became evident during the 2008 financial crisis. The normal distribution, or bell curve, revealed predictable patterns in large-scale human behavior, becoming essential in fields like medical research. Einstein’s relativity reimagined gravity as spacetime curvature, explaining cosmic phenomena and ensuring GPS accuracy. The Navier-Stokes equation revolutionized transportation design, medical research, and climate science by modeling fluid dynamics. Chaos theory uncovered hidden order in complex systems, reshaping weather forecasting and industrial processes. Finally, Euler’s formula for polyhedra laid the groundwork for topology, a field now crucial in understanding DNA structure and biological processes.

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