Cover Image

Reaching for the extreme : how the quest for the biggest, fewest, and weirdest makes math /

From bestselling author and mathematician Ian Stewart, the fascinating story of the extreme problems that have driven math forward from antiquity to today.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Stewart, Ian, 1945- (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2026].
Subjects:
Mathematical physics > History.
Mathematics > History.
Problem solving.
Table of Contents:
  • 1. Most extreme
  • 2. Biggest area
  • 3. Loneliest tile
  • 4. Fastest fall
  • 5. Smallest gap
  • 6. Best strategy
  • 7. Fewest colours
  • 8. Shortest path
  • 9. Tightest pack
  • 10. Smallest surface
  • 11. Shortest route
  • 12. Biggest number
  • 13. Smallest number
  • 14. Weirdest symmetry
  • 15. Best fold
  • 16. Lowest energy
  • 17. Shortest proof
  • 18. Greatest insight
  • Notes
  • Figure permissions
  • Index.