Why Beauty Is Truth


Why Beauty Is Truth: A History of Symmetry is a 2007 book by Ian Stewart.

Overview

Following the life and work of famous mathematicians from antiquity to the present, Stewart traces mathematics' developing handling of the concept of symmetry. One of the first takeaways, established in the preface of this book, is that it dispels the idea of the origins of symmetry in geometry, as is often the first context in which the term is introduced. This book, through its chapters, establishes its origins in algebra, more specifically group theory.

Contents

The topics covered are:

Review

—''Plus Magazine''