Mathematics For Human Flourishing (Book Review)

Math is oft seen every bit a mutual frigidness reclusive discipline. This books talks almost the beautiful in addition to graceful side of math. It talks almost the part of math inwards a fulfilled life. It talks almost how math speaks not  only to the hear but every bit good to the pump every bit well, in addition to how it is possible to taste math, in addition to exercise this collectively every bit flourishing communities.  

Math got its sick reputation because of the agency it is taught. I wrote several times almost my gripes on this. 

"The Bourbaki programme was the extreme appear of the Cartesian style. It narrowed the compass of mathematics past times excluding the beautiful flowers that Baconian travelers powerfulness collect past times the wayside."

The goals of introducing generality in addition to rigor inwards the Bourbaki procedure are non bad but that should non (and does not) imply shunning the presentation of the thought-processes that led to these results. Our project is to communicate to other humans in addition to the destination of formalizing things should endure to brand things easier to grasp for humans non to obfuscate them.

This mass is an extended version of Francis Su's retirement spoken communication 3 years agone every bit the president of the Mathematical Association of America. (Here is a transcript of that talk.)

The mass has the next chapters:

1. flourishing 
2. exploration 
3. meaning
4. play 
5. truth 
6. beauty 
7. struggle 
8. permanence 
9. power 
10. justice 
11. freedom
12. community
13. love

I specially liked the chapter on play. The chapter includes a quote from G. K. Chesterson, "It powerfulness reasonably endure maintained that the truthful object of all human life is play." It in addition to then expands on this quote in addition to adds "Play is a deep human desire, in addition to it is a grade of human flourishing. .. Mathematics makes the hear its playground." 

The mass has real overnice quotes to accompany each chapter. Some of them are:

• Every existence cries out silently to endure read differently. --Simone Weil,
• It is similar existence lost inwards a jungle in addition to trying to role all the noesis that y'all tin dismiss get together to come upwards up amongst approximately novel tricks, in addition to amongst approximately luck y'all powerfulness uncovering a agency out. --Maryam Mirzakhani
• Every give-and-take is a dead metaphor. --Jorge Luis Borges
• Play is the exultation of the possible.  --Martin Buber
• Do not, then, my friend, continue children to their studies past times compulsion, but past times play. --Plato
• With every uncomplicated human activity of thinking, something permanent, substantial, enters our soul. --Bernard Riemann
• Truth is thus obscure inwards these times, in addition to falsehood thus established, that unless nosotros dearest the truth, nosotros cannot know it.  --Blaise Pascal
• Every fourth dimension that a human existence succeeds inwards making an essay out of attending amongst the sole see of increasing his grasp of truth, he acquires a greater aptitude for grasping it, fifty-fifty if his essay out produces no visible fruit.  --Simone Weil
• Wrestling amongst a problem, persistently trying out diverse strategies, existence unafraid of making mistakes, in addition to progressing incrementally to empathize the underlying ideas produces a for certain form of endurance, which enables us to endure comfortable amongst the struggle. --Francis Su
• Power does non corrupt men; fools, however, if they acquire into a seat of power, corrupt power.  --George Bernard Shaw
• I may endure able to speak the languages of human beings in addition to fifty-fifty of angels, but if I own got no love, my spoken communication is no to a greater extent than than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.  --Paul the Apostle
• The existent satisfaction from mathematics is inwards learning from others in addition to sharing amongst others. All of us own got clear agreement of a few things in addition to murky concepts of many more.  --Bill Thurston

The mass has many overnice puzzles throughout. You volition taste the mass a lot, in addition to I recall the mass volition every bit good endure a non bad read for the budding mathematical explorers (epsilons every bit Paul Erdos used to telephone phone them) inwards your life. I recall the flat of the mass is appropriate for grades seven in addition to up. When my kids asked me "When volition nosotros e'er role this stuff?" I used to tell them, "You are using it correct at i time to grow your brain!" Now, I own got a to a greater extent than comprehensive answer. I volition tell "You volition role this for flourishing. Mathematics helps people flourish," in addition to mitt them this book.   

In this shorter talk, Francis Su talks almost grace inwards teaching. This advice is useful for academics, but it is every bit good every bit applicable to anyone inwards tech plain every bit well. What is the betoken of making life pitiful for newcomers to a field? Is the idea, this materials was difficult for me to learn, y'all should every bit good suffer? Shouldn't nosotros exercise goodness more, in addition to flourish both our hearts in addition to our minds, if nosotros brand our fields to a greater extent than accessible to novel comers?

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