Letters to a Young Mathematician
Encyclopedia
Letters to a Young Mathematician is a 2006 book by Ian Stewart
, and is part of Basic Books' Art of Mentoring
series. Stewart mentions in the preface that he considers this book an update to G.H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology
.
The book is made up of letters to a fictional correspondent of Stewart's, an aspiring mathematician named Meg. The roughly chronological letters follow Meg from her high school years up to her receiving tenure
from an American university.
Reviews of the book were generally positive. Fernando Q. Gouvêa's review for the MAA
calls it "full of good advice, much of it direct and to the point" and later, that "while it won't change the world, it may well help some young people decide to be (or not to be) mathematicians." In Emma Carberry's review for the AMS
, reacted differently, saying that "one does not so much feel the benefit of a ream of practical advice, but rather of exposure to the inner realm of mathematics". A review in Nature
was harsher, however, saying that "there is a general lack of information ... [and] too much jargon" and that it "suffers from being written entirely for a US audience", but even this review finds a bright note, "The letter in which Stewart tells Meg how to teach undergraduates should be compulsory reading for all lecturers and tutors."
ISBN 0-465-08231-9 Original hardback from Basic Books
Ian Stewart (mathematician)
Ian Nicholas Stewart FRS is a professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick, England, and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction writer. He is the first recipient of the , awarded jointly by the LMS and the IMA for his work on promoting mathematics.-Biography:Stewart was born...
, and is part of Basic Books' Art of Mentoring
Art of Mentoring
The Art of Mentoring series was a series of books published by Basic Books from 2001 to 2008, beginning with Alan Dershowitz's Letters to a Young Lawyer and Christopher Hitchens' Letters to a Young Contrarian. The books were all titled in the form "Letters to a Young ____", in the spirit of Rainer...
series. Stewart mentions in the preface that he considers this book an update to G.H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology
A Mathematician's Apology
A Mathematician's Apology is a 1940 essay by British mathematician G. H. Hardy. It concerns the aesthetics of mathematics with some personal content, and gives the layman an insight into the mind of a working mathematician.-Summary:...
.
The book is made up of letters to a fictional correspondent of Stewart's, an aspiring mathematician named Meg. The roughly chronological letters follow Meg from her high school years up to her receiving tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
from an American university.
Reviews of the book were generally positive. Fernando Q. Gouvêa's review for the MAA
Mathematical Association of America
The Mathematical Association of America is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists;...
calls it "full of good advice, much of it direct and to the point" and later, that "while it won't change the world, it may well help some young people decide to be (or not to be) mathematicians." In Emma Carberry's review for the AMS
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
, reacted differently, saying that "one does not so much feel the benefit of a ream of practical advice, but rather of exposure to the inner realm of mathematics". A review in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
was harsher, however, saying that "there is a general lack of information ... [and] too much jargon" and that it "suffers from being written entirely for a US audience", but even this review finds a bright note, "The letter in which Stewart tells Meg how to teach undergraduates should be compulsory reading for all lecturers and tutors."
ISBN 0-465-08231-9 Original hardback from Basic Books