There is also a serious mathematical mistake underlying one of the main `events' in the book: Uncle Petros wants to talk to Godel to know whether it is decidable whether a particular problem ([Goldbach Conjecture], in his case) is provable or not. Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2016. This is a testament to the clear and simple prose of the author, himself a mathematician by training. Doxiadis has used what to some is a boring and highly esoteric topic to build a very human mystery. character who lived and worked with the great mathematicians of the early 19th century. Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture. I recommend this as a book that gives some insight into the secretive obsession that is sometimes an indicator of genius. I remember very little of all the equations I learned in school, and I feel awful that I cannot help students with their math problems at school. Take a look at what the other reviewers have said. On the surface it is about the fictional mathematical prodigy Petros Papachristos. Now an old man, he is looked on with suspicion and shame by his family-until his ambitious young nephew intervenes. It`s a great book for anyone who wants to find out about the life of a person who LOVES Goldbach's Conjecture. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. “A mathematical conjecture unsolved for two centuries; a mathematical genius uncle driven mad trying to solve it; an ambiguous relation with a mathematically-minded nephew; and acute human observation all come together in Uncle Petros to make a very funny, tender, charming and, to my mind, irresistible novel.” which, to be fair, means I'm already in favour before I turn the front page! So, why didn't Uncle Petros publish his intermediate--but important--results? It's a gripping story, but Doxiadis just isn't a very good writer. That key issue was stated two-thirds into the story - That humankind can aspire to solve everything by reason, but practically speaking, it is the lesson of Icarus that is the bottom line. It's a gripping story, but Doxiadis just isn't a very good writer. Clever, witty, and enjoyable. This was a tale that his nephew worked out. It's a pity that the geometrical proof for the conjecture is missing from the book. Big bonus points for combining super-scary mathematical theorum with nice jaunty readable prose. An excellent & extremely well-written story. To me this novel is about so much more than the tale of Petros, it depicts the thrill and the dedication mathematicians have when at work. The narrative concerns a man with incredible talent in mathematics who becomes obsessed with finding the solution to one of mathematics great problems. I absolutely loved how Doxiadis transformed this well-known thread of history of mathematics into an unputdownable novel. A mathematician is overwhelmed with gratification when a hypothesis is proved by them or even when one is presented and through a logical process they come to understand and have that 'Eureka!' Incidentally, I read it while I was trying to built a non-fiction narrative in Urdu on limits of rationality and mysteries surrounding interplay of reason and intuition in the process of mathematical discovery. Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture tells the story of a brilliant mathematician obsessed with proving Goldbach's Conjecture (as reformulated by Euler: every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes). Thus we practically see the life of such a person as he tries to find a solution to everything via numbers and hard facts. Basically he's the type of guy who'd have had the school boy Professor Brian Cox running to hide behind the back of the bike sheds to weep big ovo-spherical lacrimosal excretions over the fact that he's just not that smart. A very pleasing little novel. Still, the entire novel had my attention and had me laughing with its combination of likeable characters, humor, heart, and a touch of mathematical madness. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Most people would consider a novel centred on maths rather uninteresting. I am definitely not a mathematician but I perked up at concepts such as intermediate results discovered while on my quest. Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture tells the story of a brilliant mathematician obsessed with proving Goldbach's Conjecture (as reformulated by Euler: every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes). While Goldbach's Conjecture is central to the plot of the novella the author says the conjecture dozens of time when this reference is un-needed. An understanding is also made with the great mathematicians whom literally sacrifice their lives socially and health-wise for the miraculous results they procure. However, the publishers of Uncle Petros, Faber & Faber (UK) and Bloomsbury (USA) have issued a $1,000,000 challenge to prove it. - especially the veiled notion that only the romantic genius type can be a "true" mathematician, and the corresponding implication that mathematics is the only real abstra. T. The plot and premise of this book was cool - boy admires mysterious old uncle, boy finds out the uncle "wasted" his entire life trying to solve the infamous math problem known as "Goldbach's Conjecture," boy tries to follow in uncle's footsteps. This states that every even integer greater than two is the sum of two primes. As his nephew tries to discover what happened from him, Uncle Petros reveals his story of how his brilliant start was eclipsed by his all-consuming obsession to crack Goldbach's conjecture. Why do people chase these relatively esoteric goals? Apparently maths can be fun. I also like books about scientists because I know scientists and I understand how their minds work (most of the time). Amazon.in - Buy Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession book online at best prices in India on Amazon.in. You can still see all customer reviews for the product. - especially the veiled notion that only the romantic genius type can be a "true" mathematician, and the corresponding implication that mathematics is the only real abstract intellectual pursuit. See all details for Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical... © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. What's really disappointing - to me - is that it doesn't actually get into the math very much; for the most part it just kind of describes without explaining ("Then I tried a an algebraic approach"). But that was not the key issue of the novel. Turns out (if you don’t know it yet) that mathematicians love solving enigmas concerning numbers. In the process, he was hurt unfairly by the bitterness of his uncle. Lot's of artifacts of bad line breaks. ), When I was at school I hated Maths (yes over here we say it in the plural) with a passion. It was eloquently written, and it is full of episodes of both human folly and wisdom. “Intuition,’ he answered with a shrug. ), Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2016, Doxiadis tells a good yarn, rooted in his secure command of the history of mathematics, his obvious affection for its major characters (Euler, Hardy/Littlewood/Ramanujan, Turing and Gödel, others) into whom---warts and all---he breathes life, and his visceral sense of what it feels like to do mathematics; more specifically, of what it feels like to be obsessively stuck on a problem. To invent a name for it is the devil's work .. ". 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