In Pursuit of the Unknown by Ian Stewart is about seventeen equations that have not only impacted mathematics and science but have also contributed to human advances to a great extent. According to Stewart, we generally disregard the historical link between mathematics and technological progress but this connection is integral to any complete understanding of human history. These equations are essentially based on the patterns we find in the world around us and using them one can make sense and consequently influence our world. Using seventeen equations – like the Wave Equation that helps engineers to evaluate a building’s response to earthquakes and the Black-Scholes equation, which he calls the Midas formula, which helps bankers to calculate financial derivatives over time – Stewart
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According to Stewart, ‘Equations have hidden powers. They reveal the innermost secrets of nature.’ The author has integrated several nuggets of knowledge and tidbits of trivia in every chapter to make it more engaging for the reader. For example, it is pointed out that the Babylonians knew about the 3-4-5 right triangle at least a thousand years before Pythagoras. Pythagoras theorem is used in surveying and navigation and eventually led to the growth in many other mathematical fundamentals like Euclidean geometry. Stewart elucidates the importance of each equation by mentioning its uses in the modern world, like while logarithms are generally not employed now that we have inexpensive calculators and computers, but many measurements like sound, radioactive decay and earthquakes still employ logarithms. Calculus, invented by Sir Issac Newton, helps in incorporating the movement of the solar system bodies into one mathematical equation. The equation I could relate to most was Claude Shannon’s information theory which indicates the amount of information contained in a
According to Stewart, ‘Equations have hidden powers. They reveal the innermost secrets of nature.’ The author has integrated several nuggets of knowledge and tidbits of trivia in every chapter to make it more engaging for the reader. For example, it is pointed out that the Babylonians knew about the 3-4-5 right triangle at least a thousand years before Pythagoras. Pythagoras theorem is used in surveying and navigation and eventually led to the growth in many other mathematical fundamentals like Euclidean geometry. Stewart elucidates the importance of each equation by mentioning its uses in the modern world, like while logarithms are generally not employed now that we have inexpensive calculators and computers, but many measurements like sound, radioactive decay and earthquakes still employ logarithms. Calculus, invented by Sir Issac Newton, helps in incorporating the movement of the solar system bodies into one mathematical equation. The equation I could relate to most was Claude Shannon’s information theory which indicates the amount of information contained in a