Masahiko Fujiwara
Encyclopedia
Masahiko Fujiwara is a Japan
ese mathematician
, who is best known as an essayist.
He comes from a cultured family: his father Jirō Nitta
and mother Tei Fujiwara were both popular authors. He graduated from the University of Tokyo
in 1966. He began writing after a two-year position as associate professor at the University of Colorado
, with a book Wakaki sugakusha no Amerika
designed to explain American campus life to Japanese people. He also wrote about the University of Cambridge
, after a year's visit (Harukanaru Kenburijji: Ichi sugakusha no Igirisu). In a popular book on mathematics, he categorized theorems as beautiful theorems
or ugly theorems. He is also known in Japan for speaking out against government reforms in secondary education. He wrote The Dignity of a State, which according to Time Asia
was the second best selling book in the first six months of 2006 in Japan http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501060626-1205415,00.html. In 2006 he published Yo ni mo utsukushii sugaku nyumon ("An Introduction to the World's Most Elegant Mathematics") with the writer Yoko Ogawa
: it is a dialogue between novelist and mathematician on the extraordinary beauty of numbers.
As a mathematician, he is a professor emeritus at Ochanomizu University
. His major work is on Diophantine equation
s.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, who is best known as an essayist.
He comes from a cultured family: his father Jirō Nitta
Jiro Nitta
is the pen name of popular Japanese historical novelist . He was born in an area that is now part of the city of Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-Career:...
and mother Tei Fujiwara were both popular authors. He graduated from the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
in 1966. He began writing after a two-year position as associate professor at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, with a book Wakaki sugakusha no Amerika
designed to explain American campus life to Japanese people. He also wrote about the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, after a year's visit (Harukanaru Kenburijji: Ichi sugakusha no Igirisu). In a popular book on mathematics, he categorized theorems as beautiful theorems
Mathematical beauty
Many mathematicians derive aesthetic pleasure from their work, and from mathematics in general. They express this pleasure by describing mathematics as beautiful. Sometimes mathematicians describe mathematics as an art form or, at a minimum, as a creative activity...
or ugly theorems. He is also known in Japan for speaking out against government reforms in secondary education. He wrote The Dignity of a State, which according to Time Asia
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
was the second best selling book in the first six months of 2006 in Japan http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501060626-1205415,00.html. In 2006 he published Yo ni mo utsukushii sugaku nyumon ("An Introduction to the World's Most Elegant Mathematics") with the writer Yoko Ogawa
Yoko Ogawa
is a Japanese writer.-Biography:Ogawa was born in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, graduated from Waseda University, and lives in Ashiya, Hyōgo, with her husband and son. Since 1988, she has published more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her novel The Professor's Beloved Equation has been...
: it is a dialogue between novelist and mathematician on the extraordinary beauty of numbers.
As a mathematician, he is a professor emeritus at Ochanomizu University
Ochanomizu University
is one of only two national women's universities in Japan. The other one is the Nara Women's University.-History:Ochanomizu University was founded in 1875 as a teacher training institute for women located in Tokyo's Ochanomizu neighborhood. On September 1, 1923, the campus was destroyed in the...
. His major work is on Diophantine equation
Diophantine equation
In mathematics, a Diophantine equation is an indeterminate polynomial equation that allows the variables to be integers only. Diophantine problems have fewer equations than unknown variables and involve finding integers that work correctly for all equations...
s.