Abstract
MATHEMATICAL research has two aspects. The more obvious is the solution of problems which arise in the branches of the subject already known. But there is also the logical and philosophical study of the foundations of mathematics, and of the relation between its different branches. Strangely enough, it is the second aspect as Well as the first which is indispensable for a full understanding oi modern physical theories, such as relativity and quantum mechanics. Dr. Defrise believes that a real understanding of science is impossible without at least a general idea of this second aspect. He has therefore tried to give a treatment of non-Euclidean geometry, the ‘axiomatic method', the theory of groups, invariance and transformations, in a form requiring no knowledge of mathematics beyond the ordinary school course and suitable for the nonspecialist reader. But this reader must possess a logical mind and a capacity for abstract thought which are not characteristic of ‘the man in the street' in Great Britain, whatever is the case in Belgium and France. However, the reading of this little book would be very profitable, if not always very easy, to teachers of elementary mathematics in Britain, as Dr. Defrise‘s emphasis is on that aspect of geometry which is entirely omitted from our ordinary school course.
Visages de la mathématique
Essai de semi-vulgarisation de quelques aspects fondamentaux de la pensée mathématique. Par Dr. Pierre Defrise. Pp. 126. (Bruxelles : J. Lebègue et Cie., n.d.) 60 francs.
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PIAGGIO, H. Visages de la mathématique. Nature 162, 638 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/162638c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/162638c0