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Article: Hypothesis finxit.(Stalking the Riemann Hypothesis)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- New Criterion
- Article date:
- November 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Foundation for Cultural Review. 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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Dan Rockmore Stalking the Riemann Hypothesis. Pantheon Books, 296 pages, $25
The author of a pop-math book must decide, before he sets finger on keyboard, how much he is going to demand of his readers in the way of willingness to engage with actual mathematics. As is often the case in writing, what is easier for the author is more difficult for the reader, and vice versa. If, on the one hand, you decide to press your reader's nose to the grindstone, you can present pages of standard equations and calculations, and guide him through them. This is hard for the reader, but easier for the author, who has only to regurgitate some well-established mathematical cliches ...