My appreciation of geometry
type: Item
instance of: scholarly article
title: My appreciation of geometry
zbMATH Open document ID: 1284.01013
published in: ICCM Notices
publication date: 2014-01-24T00:00:00Z
full work available at URL: index.html
review text: In this clearly written and quite accessible paper, the author provides an overview of his ideas about geometry. Through a wide-encompassing historical approach from the ancient Greeks to the present, the author highlights his vision of a continuous and cumulative development of geometry and beyond, of mathematics and physics. Consequently, the interplay between geometry, algebra, the theory of heat, electromagnetism and relativity, to mention but a few characteristic examples, are strongly emphasized. At the same time, various key features of the whole, notably the tremendous importance of various ideas of symmetry, in the case of Platonic polyhedra, Herman Weyl's gauge theory, its later generalizations by Chen-Ning Yang and Einstein's relativity, for instance, are also put forward. Not less importantly too, the author underlines his ideas about harmony, truth and beauty. Lastly, in his answer to a few questions after his talk, he expresses his conviction that geometry is essential in middle school mathematical education.
reviewed by: Jean-Claude Martzloff
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 01A05
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 51-03
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 53-03
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 97G99
zbMATH DE Number: 6250355
zbMATH Keywords: geometry
zbMATH Keywords: symmetry
zbMATH Keywords: Greek mathematics
zbMATH Keywords: Chen-Ning Yang
zbMATH Keywords: Hermann Weyl
zbMATH Keywords: Einstein
zbMATH Keywords: mathematical education
author: Shing-Tung Yau
MaRDI profile type: Publication
OpenAlex ID: W2326342711
DOI: 10.4310/ICCM.2013.V1.N1.A7
description: scientific article; zbMATH DE number 6250355