Cosa ho imparato da questo libro?
1) che i matematici sono per lo più dei personaggi "curiosi" quando va bene, "stramboidi senza speranza" quando va male.
2)che la ricerca di verità matematiche non ha niente da invidiare a delle quest cavalleresche (compresi i mostri)
3)che avrei dovuto stare più attento al liceo
4)che la simmetria non è semplicemente la corrispondenza tra lato destro e lato sinistro..e che non è detto debba esaurirsi alle nostre (misere) 3 dimensioni...
5)perché in matematica si dica "scoprire" e non "creare"
beh...
non vi è venuta voglia di saperne di più? ( )

עד לאמצעיתו מצאתי את הספר מאכזב מאוד. ספר לא ממוקד שנכתב לקהל לא ברור ושמערבב בתוכו סיפור אישי של המחבר, היסטוריה של המתמטיקה, שיעור בסיסי בתורת החבורות, וביוגרפיה של מתמטיקאים. החל מאמצעיתו, הספר נהיה ממוקד יותר ומתרכז במאמץ האדיר שהושקע במיון החבורות הסופיות הפשוטות. הסיפור עניין אותי גם כי הוא דרמטי וגם כי בתקופה מסויימת הייתי מעורה בו קצת באמצעות דיווחיו של דוד צילג שהיה חלק בשוליים של הצוות הגדול שעסק במלאכה. אחר כך כשעברתי לרפאל איבדתי קשר עם הנושא. עדיין, למרות העניין האישי שלי אני מוצא את עצמי תמהה למי מיועד הספר. מי שמתמטיקאי ימצא את עצמו כועס על הטרמינולוגיה הילדותית ועל היעדרה של טרמינולוגיה המקובלת ועל ההסברים הילדותיים מדי פעם. מי שלא מתמטיקאי קשה לי לדמיין שיימצא ידיים ורגליים בספר הזה. גם מי שמתמטיקאי לא באמת יכול לעקוב אחרי חלק גדול מהסיפור האישי כמו גם הסיפור הגדול של המיון. ( )

Symmetry has two points of focus. One is the symmetry in nature and its relationship to mathematics. Second is the history of mathematical symmetry and the people behind the exploration.

The mathematics is expressed in simple terms, the only equations are simple that anyone can recognize, a few diagrams, and the digits of large numbers. Much is in the descriptions of bizarre objects in muti-, as in more than 20, dimensional space. The author describes them in terms of their numbers of symmetry, no imagery is required.

The main issues with the book are it can be redundant and slow. I felt some of the historical stories on people should have been left out or shortened.

On the positive side, it flows well and is easy to read. It does a good job of tying different areas of math together, and it does mention by name a few more complex topics as he covers them. I think the book would have done better by providing more math, since that was the focus of the book, it feels like an important part was omitted.

If you have an interest in math, you will probably find the book of interest. Otherwise I'd pass it up. ( )

I enjoyed this in the main. I have enjoyed Du Sautoy's TV programmes about maths and love his enthusiasm for his subject. I found this entertaining if a little challenging at times. ( )

Symmmetry: A Journey Into the Patterns of Nature shows a lot of potential. There simply aren't many books targeted to a lay audience exploring the complex concept of symmetry. But does Sautoy deliver a successful and accessible tome outlining symmetry and the nature of mathematical patterns?

Pros: Well designed cover; Interesting topic; Fusion of math & memoir

Cons: Condescending tone; Frequent redundancies; Lack of preface

Like most recent science and math books, Symmetry is divided into chapters with accurate and descriptive subheadings within each chapter. There are twelve chapters in all, each titled with a different month, representing the author's personal journey to turning 40 and beyond.

While this is a somewhat novel arrangement for a math book, what Symmetry lacks is a preface. A preface is much appreciated at the outset of a work of non-fiction. The preface typically serves to introduce the topic at hand, as well as to provide a helpful lesson to the reader regarding any technical terms and jargon necessary to the understand the remainder of the book.

Despite the lack of a preface, Sautoy does briefly define, or provide an illustration for, each of the higher level mathematical terms as they are discussed. However, even with this assistance from the author some concepts are just too advanced for a general popular readership.

One such concept is the idea of greater than three-dimensional objects and space. While this concept may indeed be too difficult for all of Symmetry's readers to grasp, Sautoy's condescending tone when discussing multi-dimensional objects is wholly unnecessary and made me want to put the book down and not pick it up again.

Another flaw impairing the overall readability of Symmetry: A Journey Into the Patterns of Nature is the repetitiveness of certain observations from Sautoy's mentors. While these observations are undoubtably important to Sautoy and to the concept at hand, Symmetry's audience should be given some credit. It is a rare reader that forgets what occured in Chapter 1 before completing Chapter 2, and likewise for Chapters 2 and 3.

Symmetry is also nearly entirely lacking in footnotes but it does have an endnotes and a futher reading section at its conclusion which could be helpful for higher-level math students doing research projects.

This book is only recommended for those with an advanced understanding of higher level mathematics and readers with a high degree of patience who can overlook a condescending tone and dull repetition. ( )