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Drawbridge Up: Mathematics?A Cultural Anathema
Drawbridge Up MathematicsA Cultural Anathema Author:Hans Magnus Enzensberger This bilingual edition (German/English) of a talk given at the International Congress of Mathematicians, Berlin, 1998, discusses the role of mathematics within our culture. With an introduction by David Mumford and illustrations by K. H. Hofmann, the essay holds an appeal to all mathematicians, established or aspiring. This much-treasured volume... more » is now available in a keepsake hardcover edition. DRAWBRIDGE UP! Having an eminent poet and astute essayist ask the question: "How does it happen that mathematics has remained as it were a blind spot in our culture - alien territory, in which only the elite, the initiate few have managed to entrench themselves?" and respond after a thoughtful and impassioned analysis: "The effort in question is the achievement of mathematical literacy - a protracted but highly auspicious project, which, if it is begun at an early age, provides our all too sluggish brains with a kind of athletic work-out and yields us a variety of pleasure to which we are quite unaccustomed." should make every person with an interest in mathematics go out and buy multiple copies for his or her circle of friends.« less