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Article: Count and die; The history of mathematics.(The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- August 27, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE romantic figure at the heart of Mario Livio's fascinating book about mathematical equations and symmetry is a brilliant Frenchman, Evariste Galois, who died in 1832 at the age of only 20.
Galois's work was the culmination of an ancient quest to solve ever more complicated mathematical equations. Simple linear equations (such as 2+x=5) were routinely solved in ancient Babylon. Quadratic equations (with an x2) are a bit harder, but the formula for solving them was discovered by medieval Arabic mathematicians.
Cubic equations are a different matter. Mr Livio describes the feverish search for a formula in Renaissance Italy, with ...