The Shape of a Life

The Shape of a Life
Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
Total Pages : 449
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780300245523
ISBN-13 : 0300245521
Rating : 4/5 (521 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Shape of a Life by : Shing-Tung Yau

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

The Shape of a Life Related Books

The Shape of a Life
Language: en
Pages: 449
Authors: Shing-Tung Yau
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-02-19 - Publisher: Yale University Press

GET EBOOK

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.
The Shape of a Life
Language: en
Pages: 327
Authors: Shing-Tung Yau
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-01-01 - Publisher: Yale University Press

GET EBOOK

A Fields medalist recounts his lifelong transnational effort to uncover the geometric shape--the Calabi-Yau manifold--that may store the hidden dimensions of ou
Shape
Language: en
Pages: 481
Authors: Jordan Ellenberg
Categories: Mathematics
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-05-25 - Publisher: Penguin

GET EBOOK

An instant New York Times Bestseller! “Unreasonably entertaining . . . reveals how geometric thinking can allow for everything from fairer American elections
Circles and Lines
Language: en
Pages: 113
Authors: John Demos
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2009-06-30 - Publisher: Harvard University Press

GET EBOOK

In this intimate, engaging book, John Demos offers an illuminating portrait of how colonial Americans, from the first settlers to the postrevolutionary generati
The Shape of Inner Space
Language: en
Pages: 398
Authors: Shing-Tung Yau
Categories: Mathematics
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-09-07 - Publisher: Il Saggiatore

GET EBOOK

The leading mind behind the mathematics of string theory discusses how geometry explains the universe we see. Illustrations.