Shing-Tung Yau

Steve Nadis

A Fields medalist recounts his lifelong transnational effort to uncover the geometric shape—the Calabi-Yau manifold—that may store the hidden dimensions of our universe. “An unexpectedly intimate look into a highly accomplished man, his colleagues and friends, the development of a new field of geometric analysis, and a glimpse into a truly uncommon mind.”—Nina MacLaughlin, Boston Globe “Engaging, eminently readable . . . For those with a taste for elegant and largely jargon-free explanations of mathematics, The Shape of a Life promises hours of rewarding reading.”—Judith Goodstein, American Scientist Harvard geometer and Fields medalist Shing-Tung Yau has provided a mathematical foundation for string theory, offered new insights into black holes, and mathematically demonstrated the stability of our universe. In this autobiography, Yau reflects on his improbable journey to becoming one of the world’s most distinguished mathematicians. Beginning with an impoverished childhood in China and Hong Kong, Yau takes readers through his doctoral studies at Berkeley during the height of the Vietnam War protests, his Fields Medal–winning proof of the Calabi conjecture, his return to China, and his pioneering work in geometric analysis. This new branch of geometry, which Yau built up with his friends and colleagues, has paved the way for solutions to several important and previously intransigent problems. With complicated ideas explained for a broad audience, this book offers readers not only insights into the life of an eminent mathematician, but also an accessible way to understand advanced and highly abstract concepts in mathematics and theoretical physics.

One Mathematician's Search for the Universe's Hidden Geometry

The Shape of a Life

Steven J. Nadis

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Car Trouble

In the twentieth century, American mathematicians began to make critical advances in a field previously dominated by Europeans. Harvard's mathematics department was at the center of these developments. A History in Sum is an inviting account of the pioneers who trailblazed a distinctly American tradition of mathematics--in algebraic geometry, complex analysis, and other esoteric subdisciplines that are rarely written about outside of journal articles or advanced textbooks. The heady mathematical concepts that emerged, and the men and women who shaped them, are described here in lively, accessible prose. The story begins in 1825, when a precocious sixteen-year-old freshman, Benjamin Peirce, arrived at the College. He would become the first American to produce original mathematics--an ambition frowned upon in an era when professors largely limited themselves to teaching. Peirce's successors transformed the math department into a world-class research center, attracting to the faculty such luminaries as George David Birkhoff. Influential figures soon flocked to Harvard, some overcoming great challenges to pursue their elected calling. A History in Sum elucidates the contributions of these extraordinary minds and makes clear why the history of the Harvard mathematics department is an essential part of the history of mathematics in America and beyond.

A History in Sum

Sembra impossibile che spazi più piccoli di quelli che si possono umanamente immaginare, spazi a sei dimensioni, un milione di milioni di milioni di volte più piccoli di un elettrone, siano in grado di esercitare un’influenza tanto profonda su ogni parte dell’Universo da diventarne un tratto distintivo e caratterizzante. Eppure è così.Per la teoria delle stringhe le dimensioni dell’Universo sono dieci: quattro sono le dimensioni spazio-temporali contemplate dalla teoria della relatività generale, le restanti sei (le cosiddette «dimensioni extra») danno forma alle varietà di Calabi-Yau. Nel 1976 Shing-Tung Yau ha conquistato la Medaglia Fields, il premio Nobel dei matematici, per aver dimostrato l’esistenza di queste forme complesse che portano il suo nome, spazi invisibili la cui geometria può essere la chiave definitiva per comprendere i più importanti fenomeni fisici.La forma dello spazio profondo ripercorre le tappe del percorso scientifico che ha portato Yau alla formulazione di una teoria rivoluzionaria, con una nuova possibile immagine dell’Universo.Troppo bello per essere vero: così, spesso, gli scettici hanno liquidato le astrazioni della nuova geometria. L’ipotesi delle dimensioni extra, che riguarda fisica, matematica e geometria, suggerisce non solo che i nuovi spazi possano essere veri, ma che la realtà, ancora una volta, è più affascinante dell’immaginazione.

Steve Nadis

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