Six Math Essentials - by Terence Tao (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The "Mozart of mathematics" invites readers on a brief tour of six core ideas--numbers, algebra, geometry, probability, analysis, and dynamics--that capture the beauty and power of mathematical thinking for everyone.

In Six Math Essentials, the renowned mathematician and Fields Medalist Terence Tao introduces readers to six central concepts that have guided mathematicians from antiquity to the frontiers of what we know today and now help us make sense of our complex world. This slim, elegant volume explores numbers as the gateway to quantitative thinking; algebra as the gateway to abstraction; geometry as a way to calculate beyond what we can see; probability as a tool to navigate uncertainty with rigorous thinking; analysis as a means to tame the very large or the very small; and dynamics as the mathematics of change. Six Math Essentials--Tao's first popular math book--provides a glimpse into the workings of Tao's incomparable mind and how he thinks about the creativity and interconnectedness of the mathematical enterprise. Contrary to popular perception, math, he insists, isn't magic--it's a powerful way of thinking that anyone can learn.

About the Author

Terence Tao is an Australian American professor of mathematics at UCLA whose work focuses primarily on harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorics, and analytic number theory. The recipient of a Fields Medal, a MacArthur Genius Grant, and a Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, among many other accolades, he is one of the most decorated and prolific mathematicians working today. Tao is the author of several academic books, including Solving Mathematical Problems: A Personal Perspective and Additive Combinatorics. He lives in Los Angeles.