Seventeen Equations that Changed the World

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That chapter just feels like it was only written so Stewart could vent his frustrations regarding the most recent real estate bubble, which, to be honest, is fair enough. Most people are familiar with history's great equations: Newton's Law of Gravity, for instance, or Einstein's theory of relativity.

For example, the base 10 logarithm of 1 is log(1) = 0, since 1 = 10 0; log(10) = 1, since 10 = 10 1; and log(100) = 2, since 100 = 10 2. But there is always a small chance that purely randomly, say a mixture of gas molecules will partly unmix. However, equations have a reputation for being scary: Stephen Hawking’s publishers told him that every equation would halve the sales of A Brief History of Time, but then they ignored their own advice and allowed him to include E = mc2, when cutting it out would allegedly have sold another ten million copies. In In Pursuit of the Unknown, celebrated mathematician Ian Stewart untangles the roots of our most important mathematical statements to show that equations have long been a driving force behind nearly every aspect of our lives. P. Snow's much-quoted complaint that educated people felt (perhaps still feel) quite comfortable not being able to explain the concepts of mass, or acceleration - the scientific equivalent of being able to read - and indeed have little more understanding of these concepts than their Neolithic ancestors.I would love this book to become required reading at, say, the upper high school and/or college level, as I think it could help with this necessary deeper understanding of the relevance of mathematics. Here is Ian Stewart very worthily setting out to explain 17 equations, some of them pretty complicated, to the general reader. Importance: Helped understand electromagnetic waves, helping to create most modern electrical and electronic technology.

The origins of most mathematical symbols are either lost in the mists of antiquity, or are so recent that there is no doubt where they came from. Overall it was A very interesting book and one that I will probably still recommend to some of the more dedicated math/science students in my GenEd classes. In 17 Equations, Stewart described how the Black-Scholes equation provided the "mathematical justification for the trading"—and therefore—"one ingredient in a rich stew of financial irresponsibility, political ineptitude, perverse incentives and lax regulation" that contributed to the financial crisis of 2007–08. It can be read from cover-to-cover, but each chapter can stand alone, so the book can be used for reference purposes. The equations he provides us with are wonderful, fundamental ones that even someone with an interest in science alone, who only sees maths as a means to an end, can see are fascinating.There's not enough detail to interest people studying maths or physics at university, but it becomes too obscure in a number of places for the general reader.

In 2013, mathematician and science author Ian Stewart published a book on " 17 Equations That Changed The World. He is an Emeritus Professor and Digital Media Fellow in the Mathematics Department at the University of Warwick, with special responsibility for public awareness of mathematics and science.

He has that valuable grasp of not only what it takes to make equations interesting, but also to make science cool. But his publishers had a point too: equations are formal and austere, they look complicated, and even those of us who love equations can be put off if we are bombarded with them.