Geometry and the Imagination

Geometry and the Imagination is the English translation of the 1932 book Anschauliche Geometrie by David Hilbert and Stephan Cohn-Vossen.[1]

Geometry and the Imagination
Original titleAnschauliche Geometrie
TranslatorPaul Nemenyi
PublisherChelsea Publishing (American Mathematical Society)
Publication date
1952
Pages357
ISBN9780821819982
OCLC542459

The book was based on a series of lectures Hilbert made in the winter of 1920–21. The book is an attempt to present some then-current mathematical thought to "contribute to a more just appreciation of mathematics by a wider range of people than just the specialists."[2]

Contents

Topics covered by the chapters in the book include the Leibniz formula for π, configurations of points and lines with equally many points on each line and equally many lines through each point, curvature and non-Euclidean geometry, mechanical linkages, the classification of manifolds by their Euler characteristic, and the four color theorem.[3]

Response

The Mathematical Association of America said about the book, "this book is a masterpiece — a delightful classic that should never go out of print".[3] Physics Today called it "a readable exposition of modern geometry and its relation to other branches of mathematics".[4] The Scientific Monthly said about it "has been a classic for twenty years . . . Although it deals with elementary topics, it reaches the fringe of our knowledge in many directions".[5]

References
  1. Hilbert, David; Cohn-Vossen, Stephan (1999). Geometry and the imagination (2nd ed.). Providence, R.I.: AMS Chelsea Pub. ISBN 9780821819982. OCLC 41256151.
  2. Hilbert, page iv
  3. "Geometry and the Imagination | Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  4. Hilbert, D.; Cohn‐Vossen, S. (May 1953). "Geometry and the Imagination". Physics Today. doi:10.1063/1.3061234.
  5. Coxeter, H.S.M. (February 1953). "Review: Intuitive Geometry". The Scientific Monthly. 76 (2): 117–118. JSTOR 20643.
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