Awards

• Winner of AAP/Professional and Scholarly Publishing Awards: Mathematics and Statistics 2007
• Winner of AAP/Professional and Scholarly Publishing Awards: Mathematics and Statistics 2007.

Overview

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9780691127095

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Reviews

Good stories need rich characters that we care about, not mathematical theorems, however fascinating. So a work of fiction subtitled A mathematical novel makes you fear that it may only expose the tremendous difficulty of blending science and logic with the emotion and dramatic tension required of good literature. Fortunately, in this case that fear is misplaced, because A Certain Ambiguity succeeds both as a compelling novel and as an intellectual tour through some startling mathematical ideas... A Certain Ambiguity is a brilliant and unusual novel. New Scientist I loved this novel. I hope we see more 'mathematical novels' being published in the future. -- Donald L. Vestal MAA Review The writers have created a book that could fascinate those who have just a rudimentary knowledge of math... India Abroad In the delightful, yet deep tradition of Lewis Carroll, Martin Gardner, A.K. Dewdney, and Marco Abate comes A Certain Ambiguity by Gaurav Suri and Hartosh Singh Bal...There is no doubt that Suri and Bal have set a difficult goal for themselves and have succeeded in making difficult mathematical ideas accessible...[W]hat makes the work of Suri and Bal a fine example of this tradition is what makes any successful and more traditional novel work--rich and warm characterization, an interesting plot, and a conclusion that illustrates the equal proportions of ingredients of certainty, ambiguity, frustration, and joy in the proof of our human-ness. -- Gurunandan R. Bhat The Financial Express Suri and Bal's unconventional book praises the beauty of mathematics and the logical inevitability of its proofs. The book is also a discourse on the struggles between truth, faith, and reason. All this is woven into two weeks in the life of Ravi, an Indian student at Stanford University, and his accidental discovery that his grandfather was once convicted of blasphemy in a New Jersey town...Among the many books that aim to make mathematics more accessible to the nonmathematician, this is a remarkably pleasant and successful achievement. -- J. Mayer Choice The book sweeps up those who are sensitive to the intellectual adventure of mathematics. It accurately portrays the attraction and enjoyment that are to be found in the play of ideas. I recommend it highly to all those who have an interest in mathematics. -- William Byars SIAM Review

Good stories need rich characters that we care about, not mathematical theorems, however fascinating. So a work of fiction subtitled A mathematical novel makes you fear that it may only expose the tremendous difficulty of blending science and logic with the emotion and dramatic tension required of good literature. Fortunately, in this case that fear is misplaced, because A Certain Ambiguity succeeds both as a compelling novel and as an intellectual tour through some startling mathematical ideas... A Certain Ambiguity is a brilliant and unusual novel. -- New Scientist I loved this novel. I hope we see more 'mathematical novels' being published in the future. -- Donald L. Vestal, MAA Review The writers have created a book that could fascinate those who have just a rudimentary knowledge of math... -- India Abroad In the delightful, yet deep tradition of Lewis Carroll, Martin Gardner, A.K. Dewdney, and Marco Abate comes A Certain Ambiguity by Gaurav Suri and Hartosh Singh Bal...There is no doubt that Suri and Bal have set a difficult goal for themselves and have succeeded in making difficult mathematical ideas accessible...[W]hat makes the work of Suri and Bal a fine example of this tradition is what makes any successful and more traditional novel work--rich and warm characterization, an interesting plot, and a conclusion that illustrates the equal proportions of ingredients of certainty, ambiguity, frustration, and joy in the proof of our human-ness. -- Gurunandan R. Bhat, The Financial Express Suri and Bal's unconventional book praises the beauty of mathematics and the logical inevitability of its proofs. The book is also a discourse on the struggles between truth, faith, and reason. All this is woven into two weeks in the life of Ravi, an Indian student at Stanford University, and his accidental discovery that his grandfather was once convicted of blasphemy in a New Jersey town...Among the many books that aim to make mathematics more accessible to the nonmathematician, this is a remarkably pleasant and successful achievement. -- J. Mayer, Choice The book sweeps up those who are sensitive to the intellectual adventure of mathematics. It accurately portrays the attraction and enjoyment that are to be found in the play of ideas. I recommend it highly to all those who have an interest in mathematics. -- William Byars, SIAM Review

Author Information

Gaurav Suri, a partner at a global management consulting firm in San Francisco, holds a master's degree in mathematics from Stanford. Hartosh Singh Bal, a leading independent journalist in New Delhi, holds a master's degree in mathematics from New York University. Suri and Bal have been friends since childhood. This is their first book.

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