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Over the past eighty years, martingales have become central in the mathematics of randomness. They appear in the general theory of stochastic processes, in the algorithmic theory of randomness, and in some branches of mathematical statistics. Yet little has been written about the history of this evolution. This book explores some of the territory that the history of the concept of martingales has transformed. The historian of martingales faces an immense task. We can find traces of martingale thinking at the very beginning of probability theory, because this theory was related to gambling, and the evolution of a gambler's holdings as a result of following a particular strategy can always be understood as a martingale. More recently, in the second half of the twentieth century, martingales became important in the theory of stochastic processes at the very same time that stochastic processes were becoming increasingly important in probability, statistics and more generally invarious applied situations. Moreover, a history of martingales, like a history of any other branch of mathematics, must go far beyond an account of mathematical ideas and techniques. It must explore the context in which the evolution of ideas took place: the broader intellectual milieux of the actors, the networks that already existed or were created by the research, even the social and political conditions that favored or hampered the circulation and adoption of certain ideas. This books presents a stroll through this history, in part a guided tour, in part a random walk. First, historical studies on the period from 1920 to 1950 are presented, when martingales emerged as a distinct mathematical concept. Then insights on the period from 1950 into the 1980s are offered, when the concept showed its value in stochastic processes, mathematical statistics, algorithmic randomness and various applications.

This volume contains articles on the history of Soviet mathematics, many of which are personal accounts by mathematicians who witnessed and contributed to the turbulent and glorious years of Moscow mathematics. The articles in the book focus on mathematical developments in that era, the personal lives of Russian mathematicians, and political events that shaped the course of scientific work in the Soviet Union. Important contributions include an article about Luzin and his school, based in part on documents that were released only after perestroika, and two articles on Kolmogorov. The volume concludes with annotated bibliographies in English and Russian for further reading. The revised edition is appended by an article of Tikhomirov, which provides an update and general overview of 20th-century Moscow mathematics, and it also includes an Index of Names. This book should appeal to mathematicians, historians, and anyone else interested in Soviet mathematical history.

This collection presents significant contributions from an international network project on mathematical cultures, including essays from leading scholars in the history and philosophy of mathematics and mathematics education.​ Mathematics has universal standards of validity. Nevertheless, there are local styles in mathematical research and teaching, and great variation in the place of mathematics in the larger cultures that mathematical practitioners belong to. The reflections on mathematical cultures collected in this book are of interest to mathematicians, philosophers, historians, sociologists, cognitive scientists and mathematics educators.

In celebration of E. B. Dynkin's 70th birthday, this book presents current papers by those who participated in Dynkin's seminar on Lie groups and Lie algebras in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Dynkin had a major influence not only on mathematics, but also on the students who attended his seminar—many of whom are today's leading mathematicians in Russia and in the U. S. Dynkin's contributions to the theory of Lie groups is well known, and the survey paper by Karpelevich, Onishchik, and Vinberg allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of this work. Features several aspects of modern developments in Lie groups and Lie algebras, including … theory of invariants superalgebras arithmetic applications connections with mathematical physics Providing insight on the extraordinary mathematical traditions that grew out of this important seminar, Lie Groups and Lie Algebras is a fitting celebration of Dynkin's achievements.

Jacques Tits was awarded the Wolf Prize in 1993 and the Abel Prize (jointly with John Thompson) in 2008. The impact of his contributions in algebra, group theory and geometry made over a span of more than five decades is incalculable. Many fundamental developments in several fields of mathematics have their origin in ideas of Tits. A number of Tits'papers mark the starting point of completely new directions of research. Outstanding examples are papers on quadratic forms, on Kac–Moody groups and on what subsequently became known as the Tits-alternative. These volumes contain an almost complete collection of Tits'mathematical writings. They include, in particular, a number of published and unpublished manuscripts which have not been easily accessible until now. This collection of Tits'contributions in one place makes the evolution of his mathematical thinking visible. The development of his theory of buildings and BN-pairs and its bearing on the theory of algebraic groups, for example, reveal a fascinating story. Along with Tits'mathematical writings, these volumes contain biographical data, survey articles on aspects of Tits'work and comments by the editors on the content of some of his papers. With the publication of these volumes, a major piece of 20th century mathematics is being made available to a wider audience.

Mathematics has for centuries been stimulated, financed and credited by military purposes. Some mathematical thoughts and mathematical technology have also been vital in war. During World War II mathematical work by the Anti-Hitler coalition was part of an aspiration to serve humanity and not help destroy it. At present, it is not an easy task to view the bellicose potentials of mathematics in a proper perspective. The book presents historical evidence and recent changes in the interaction between mathematics and the military. It discusses the new mathematically enhanced development of military technology which seems to have changed the very character of modern warfare.

International Mathematical Olympiads 1978-1985 is a compilation of 116 problems of arresting ingenuity given to high school students competing in the International Mathematical Olympiads. All are accessible to secondary school students. The alternative solutions are particularly interesting because they show that there are many ways to solve a problem.

In July 1987, an AMS-IMS-SIAM Joint Summer Research Conference on Geometry of Random Motion was held at Cornell University. The initial impetus for the meeting came from the desire to further explore the now-classical connection between diffusion processes and second-order (hypo)elliptic differential operators. To accomplish this goal, the conference brought together leading researchers with varied backgrounds and interests: probabilists who have proved results in geometry, geometers who have used probabilistic methods, and probabilists who have studied diffusion processes. Focusing on the interplay between probability and differential geometry, this volume examines diffusion processes on various geometric structures, such as Riemannian manifolds, Lie groups, and symmetric spaces. Some of the articles specifically address analysis on manifolds, while others center on (nongeometric) stochastic analysis. The majority of the articles deal simultaneously with probabilistic and geometric techniques. Requiring a knowledge of the modern theory of diffusion processes, this book will appeal to mathematicians, mathematical physicists, and other researchers interested in Brownian motion, diffusion processes, Laplace-Beltrami operators, and the geometric applications of these concepts. The book provides a detailed view of the leading edge of research in this rapidly moving field.

The author's goal is to start a dialogue between mathematicians and cognitive scientists. He discusses, from a working mathematician's point of view, the mystery of mathematical intuition: why are certain mathematical concepts more intuitive than others? To what extent does the “small scale” structure of mathematical concepts and algorithms reflect the workings of the human brain? What are the “elementary particles” of mathematics that build up the mathematical universe? The book is saturated with amusing examples from a wide range of disciplines—from turbulence to error-correcting codes to logic—as well as with just puzzles and brainteasers. Despite the very serious subject matter, the author's approach is lighthearted and entertaining. This is an unusual and unusually fascinating book. Readers who never thought about mathematics after their school years will be amazed to discover how many habits of mind, ideas, and even material objects that are inherently mathematical serve as building blocks of our civilization and everyday life. A professional mathematician, reluctantly breaking the daily routine, or pondering on some resisting problem, will open this book and enjoy a sudden return to his or her young days when mathematics was fresh, exciting, and holding all promises. And do not take the word “microscope” in the title too literally: in fact, the author looks around, in time and space, focusing in turn on a tremendous variety of motives, from mathematical “memes” (genes of culture) to an unusual life of a Hollywood star. —Yuri I. Manin, Max-Planck Institute of Mathematics, Bonn, and Northwestern University

This anthology, consisting of two volumes, is intended to equip background researchers, practitioners and students of international mathematics education with intimate knowledge of mathematics education in Russia.Volume I, entitled Russian Mathematics Education: History and World Significance, consists of several chapters written by distinguished authorities from Russia, the United States and other nations. It examines the history of mathematics education in Russia and its relevance to mathematics education throughout the world. The second volume, entitled Russian Mathematics Education: Programs and Practices will examine specific Russian programs in mathematics, their impact and methodological innovations. Although Russian mathematics education is highly respected for its achievements and was once very influential internationally, it has never been explored in depth. This publication does just that.

Mathematicians is a remarkable collection of ninety-two photographic portraits, featuring some of the most amazing mathematicians of our time. Acclaimed photographer Mariana Cook captures the exuberant and colorful personalities of these brilliant thinkers and the superb images are accompanied by brief autobiographical texts written by each mathematician. Together, the photographs and words illuminate a diverse group of men and women dedicated to the absorbing pursuit of mathematics.The compelling black-and-white portraits introduce readers to mathematicians who are young and old, fathers and daughters, and husbands and wives. They include Fields Medal winners, those at the beginning of major careers, and those who are long-established celebrities in the discipline. Their candid personal essays reveal unique and wide-ranging thoughts, opinions, and humor, as the mathematicians discuss how they became interested in mathematics, why they love the subject, how they remain motivated in the face of mathematical challenges, and how their greatest contributions have paved new directions for future generations. Mathematicians in the book include David Blackwell, Henri Cartan, John Conway, Pierre Deligne, Timothy Gowers, Frances Kirwan, Peter Lax, William Massey, John Milnor, Cathleen Morawetz, John Nash, Karen Uhlenbeck, and many others.Conveying the beauty and joy of mathematics to those both within and outside the field, this photographic collection is an inspirational tribute to mathematicians everywhere.

Nonstandard Analysis enhances mathematical reasoning by introducing new ways of expression and deduction. Distinguishing between standard and nonstandard mathematical objects, its inventor, the eminent mathematician Abraham Robinson, settled in 1961 the centuries-old problem of how to use infinitesimals correctly in analysis. Having also worked as an engineer, he saw not only that his method greatly simplified mathematically proving and teaching, but also served as a powerful tool in modelling, analyzing and solving problems in the applied sciences, among others by effective rescaling and by infinitesimal discretizations. This book reflects the progress made in the forty years since the appearance of Robinson's revolutionary book Nonstandard Analysis: in the foundations of mathematics and logic, number theory, statistics and probability, in ordinary, partial and stochastic differential equations and in education. The contributions are clear and essentially self-contained.

This revised and greatly expanded second edition of the Russian text Tales of Mathematicians and Physicists contains a wealth of new information about the lives and accomplishments of more than a dozen scientists throughout five centuries of history: from the first steps in algebra up to new achievements in geometry in connection with physics. The heroes of the book are renowned figures from early eras, such as Cardano, Galileo, Huygens, Leibniz, Pascal, Euler, Lagrange, and Laplace, as well some scientists of last century: Klein, Poincaré, and Ramanujan. A unique mixture of mathematics, physics, and history, this volume provides biographical glimpses of scientists and their contributions in the context of the social and political background of their times. The author examines many original sources, from the scientists'research papers to their personal documents and letters to friends and family; furthermore, detailed mathematical arguments and diagrams are supplied to help explain some of the most significant discoveries in calculus, celestial mechanics, number theory, and mathematical physics. What emerges are intriguing, multifaceted studies of a number of remarkable intellectuals and their scientific legacy. Written by a distinguished mathematician and accessible to readers at all levels, this book is a wonderful resource for both students and teachers and a welcome introduction to the history of science.

Felix Berezin was an outstanding Soviet mathematician who in the 1960s and 70s was the driving force behind the emergence of the branch of mathematics now known as supermathematics. The integral over the anticommuting Grassmann variables that he introduced in the 1960s laid the foundation for the path integral formulation of quantum field theory with fermions, the heart of modern supersymmetric field theories and superstrings. The Berezin integral is named for him, as is the closely related construction of the Berezinian, which may be regarded as the superanalog of the determinant.This book features a masterfully written memoir by Berezin's widow, Elena Karpel, who narrates a remarkable account of Berezin's life and his struggle for survival under the totalitarian Soviet regime. Supplemented with recollections by his close friends and colleagues, Berezin's accomplishments in mathematics, his novel ideas and breakthrough works, are reviewed in two articles written by Andrei Losev and Robert Minlos.

Translation of: Matematicheskie sobytii︠a︡ XX veka.

Over the years, perhaps the most popular of the MAA problem books have been the high school contest books, covering the yearly American High Mathematics Examinations (AHSME) that began in 1950, co-sponsored from the start by the MAA. Book V also includes the first six years of the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) which was developed as an intermediate step between the AHSME and the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). The AIME has a unique answer format -- all answers are integers between 0 and 999. The editors of this volume, George Berzsenyi and Stephen B. Maurer, were respectively the chair of the AIME and the AHSME during this period. In addition to a thorough index, they have added much material not included in Contest Books I-IV: a comprehensive guide to other problem materials world wide, additional solutions, dropped problems, statistical information on test development and history. This is a must volume for avid fans of elementary problems, young and old.