The Calculus of Friendship: What a Teacher and a Student Learned about Life while Corresponding about Math
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"As these two men find truer, deeper friendship through an exchange of letters on math, you may be surprised to find yourself, as I was, moved by powerful emotions. I never thought I'd get choked up by an equation--but these guys are plotting out the hardest kind of change to track: the movement from Me to Us."--Alan Alda"The Calculus of Friendship is an intriguing journey that casts mathematics in a most unusual light. Through thirty years of correspondence between student and teacher, we enter a private world where the rigors of logic are the last defense against the vagaries of life."--Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe"In this delightfully inspired account of a thirty-year correspondence, two mathematicians discover even deeper things than theorems that are fundamental. A math book for the mind and for the heart."--Larry Zimmerman, winner of the 1986 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching"Steven Strogatz has written an unpretentious, charming, original, and inspiring book. In a disarmingly personal depiction, Strogatz leads us through a story of friendship between understated mentor and virtuosic student. The mathematical excursions are as much a pleasure to read as the moving narrative of the unusual friendship that the mathematics inspires."--Janna Levin, author of A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines"It is unusual for mathematicians to write in such personal terms and with such candor. Readers with any mathematical background will find this book intriguing and fascinating."--John Adam, coauthor of Guesstimation"The gentle but unremittingly honest account of this friendship utterly absorbed me. Also, some of the calculus is hilarious."--John Cleese"Containing many mathematical morsels, this decades-long correspondence tells the story of a very special student-teacher relationship. These men have taught each other more than they could ever have envisioned."--Adrian Banner, author of The Calculus Lifesaver"Mathematics speaks to the transcendental, as does this extraordinary friendship. A beautiful book!"--James Tanton, founding director of the St. Mark's Institute of Mathematics"This is a lovely book. Strogatz succeeds in producing a sincere tribute to teachers, and he emphasizes in a direct way the human element of mathematics."--Barry Cipra, author of Misteaks...and How to Find Them before the Teacher Does: A Calculus Supplement Lawrence S. Braden - Notices of the American Mathematical Society [A] beautiful book, bound to become a classic in the mathematical literature. . . . Like Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology, you don not have to know any mathematics whatsoever to read this book. It is a candid and all-too-human story told with brutal honesty, warts and all, sharing with the reader the elation and sincere regrets bound up in the relationship—but in the end, the victories, too. With some beautiful mathematics throughout!
Prologue ixContinuity (1974-75) 1Pursuit (1976) 8Relativity (1977) 13Irrationality (1978-79) 23Shifts (1980-89) 34Proof on a Place Mat (March 1989) 42The Monk and the Mountain (1989-90) 71Randomness (1990-91) 84Infinity and Limits (1991) 94Chaos (1992-95) 107Celebration (1996-99) 115The Path of Quickest Descent (2000-2003) 118Bifurcation (2004) 128Hero's Formula (2005-Present) 140Acknowledgments 155Further Reading 157Bibliography 161Photography Credits 163Index of Math Problems 165
