Prime Obsession

Popular Science notes an interesting book on some of the world unsolved mathematics problems. I happen to be a math wiz, well I use to be, as well as a physics wiz. I have always wanted to waste some time trying to solve one of the world’s greatest math puzzles. This book look like it would be a great inspiration for me. Hopefully it will inspire you as well. Her is an excerpt of PopSci’s article;

Prime Obsession, the story of what many mathematicians consider to be the great unsolved problem of their field, begins as two very different books. The first details the life of Bernhard Riemann, the 19th century German mathematician who influenced everything from number theory to general relativity. The second is a guided tour through his most vexing contribution, the Riemann hypothesis. As you ascend the number scale, the frequency of primes-those numbers divisible by only one and themselves-drops off in a pattern that Riemann described but never proved. Author John Derbyshire, both a novelist and a mathematician, writes in the prologue that he originally intended to divide this book in two. Less math-inclined readers could choose to read only the chapters that covered Riemann’s interesting life and skip the dreaded symbols, numbers and graphs required to explain his famous hypothesis. In its final form, however, the two narratives have merged. As Riemann’s story progresses and the shy prodigy matures into a devoted mathematician, the mathematics becomes his life. The Riemann hypothesis, as Derbyshire shows through approachable examples and colorful quotes from leading mathematicians, has now acquired a life of its own. It is hardly easy to explain, but Derbyshire does his very best. He also takes his time to do so. We don’t learn exactly what the Riemann Hypothesis is until we’re well into the second half. In short, Riemann developed a complex function that reveals a pattern to the distribution of primes, but he didn’t provide a proof. For over one hundred and fifty years, mathematicians have been trying to finish the job. There have been advances, retreats, false victories declared and hollow predictions revealed. Through it all, the Riemann hypothesis remains, as daunting as ever.