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A Mathematician's Apology is a 1940 essay by British mathematician G. H. Hardy, which offers a defence of the pursuit of mathematics. Central to Hardy's "apology" – in the sense of a formal justification or defence (as in Plato's Apology of Socrates) – is an argument
- G. H. Hardy, C. P. Snow
- 1940
Published in 1940, A Mathematician’s Apology, by G. H. Hardy, is an extended essay on why people study mathematics and how its logical purity, much more than its usefulness in daily life, makes it a worthy pursuit. Hardy was one of the 20th century’s most important mathematicians.
Socrates, Roman mural 1 st century. The Apology. by Plato. I do not know, men of Athens, how my 17 accusers affected you; as for me, I was almost carried away in spite of myself, so persuasively did they speak. And yet, hardly anything of what they said is true.
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“The Apology” is Plato’s account of the three speeches that Socrates gave at his trial for false teaching and heresy in 399 B.C.E. At the age of 71, Socrates fought at his trial not for his life, but for the truth.
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This book begins by explaining why some men pursue mathematics, others literary studies, others chess or cricket. Mr Hardy reiterates his famous dictum that all good mathematics is useless - "the study of mathematics is, if an unprofitable, a perfectly harmless and innocent occupation."
Feb 2, 2019 · This is an annotated edition of G. H. Hardy’s A Mathematician’s Apology and ‘Mathematics in war-time’, including three essays by the annotator: the first sets the Apology in context in the debate about the justification for mathematics, particularly as an aesthetic pursuit; the second attempts to survey comprehensively contemporary ...
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A Mathematician's Apology is the famous essay by British mathematician G. H. Hardy. It concerns the aesthetics of mathematics with some personal content, and gives the layman an insight...
