This book celebrates the life and work of twelve mathematicians who were either born in Wales or who worked in Wales. When the Welsh national anthem was composed in 1856, Wales was at the centre of the industrial revolution, the country was transformed by engineering and technology, and scientific societies flourished across the length and breadth of the land. By 1859, Charles Darwin had published his On the Origin of Species, and one of its outcomes in Wales was a growing tension between religion and science, which influenced peoples’ perceptions of their Welshness. By the end of the nineteenth century, that perception had narrowed to include its poetry, music, religion and little else. Following the popularity of his book Count Us In, the author adopts a similar style inviting us to take pride in our mathematicians and demonstrating how the tide has turned.
Table of Content
Acknowledgements
Preface
Map of Wales
Think of a number
From Môn across the Menai
How I wish I could calculate pi
Chance and circumstance
Building bridges
A giant among pygmies
What is the title of this chapter?
Mathematics for the million
Whence then cometh wisdom?
Clearing the bottleneck
Precise imprecision
Go for gold
In conclusion
Answers to puzzles
Notes on chapters
Index
About the author
This is a readable and accessible book, intended for the general reader, that avoids technical details so as to reach a wide audience. It is also aimed at anyone who is interested in Welsh culture in general, rather than specialists in mathematics only.
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