Abstract
THIS fascinating little volume opens with the famous words of Gauss, “Mathematics is queen of the sciences and arithmetic the queen of mathematics. …” Prof. Bell takes us from the objects and descriptions of mathematics through the development of systems of algebra, groups and matrices, the Einstein geometry, etc., to Hilbert's logic. Whilst, however, the manifold applications of mathematics are briefly touched upon, especially in the chapter on groups, the treatment rather follows the aim set forth by Jacobi, who, when reproached by the applied mathematician, Fourier, retorted, “The true end of mathematics is the greater glory of the human mind”. Indeed, the progress of the century is aptly summarised by the author in the words, “Ever greater generality and ever sharper criticism”.
The Queen of the Sciences.
By Prof. E. T. Bell. (A Century of Progress Series.) Pp. iv + 138. (Baltimore, Md.: The Williams and Wilkins Co.; London: Baillière, Tindall and Cox, 1931.) 5s. 6d. net.
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Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Nature 131, 319 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131319a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131319a0