The Legacy of Mario Pieri in Geometry and Arithmetic [Hardcover]

Elena Anne Marchisotto (Author), James T. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0817632107 | ISBN-13: 978-0817632106 | Edition: 1

This book is the first in a series of three volumes that comprehensively examine Mario Pieri’s life, mathematical work and influence. The book introduces readers to Pieri’s career and his studies in foundations, from both historical and modern viewpoints.

Included in this volume are the first English translations, along with analyses, of two of his most important axiomatizations — one in arithmetic and one in geometry. The book combines an engaging exposition, little-known historical notes, exhaustive references and an excellent index. And yet the book requires no specialized experience in mathematical logic or the foundations of geometry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book portrays Pieri as an individual of exceptional ability, who responded to the influence of many of his contemporaries; and they, in turn, acknowledged the quality of Pieri’s work. In fact, there is a sixty-page section in the first chapter containing biographical sketches of the lives and work of almost a hundred such mathematicians. Moreover, the general historical analysis and interpretative commentary, whilst focussing particularly upon the achievements of Mario Pieri, also extends to many of the general mathematical developments of his era. The book is very thoroughly documented and contains an abundance of photographic portraits. It culminates with an extensive bibliography and an accurately compiled index, and it will undoubtedly appeal to those concerned with the history of ‘modern mathematics’, as well as being of interest to the general readership specified by the authors." —MAA Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Italian mathematician Mario Pieri (1860-1913) played an integral part in the research groups of Corrado Segre and Giuseppe Peano, and thus had a significant, yet somewhat underappreciated impact on several branches of mathematics, particularly on the development of algebraic geometry and the foundations of mathematics in the years around the turn of the 20^th century. This book is the first in a series of three volumes that are dedicated to countering that neglect and comprehensively examining Pieri’s life, mathematical work, and influence in such diverse fields as mathematical logic, algebraic geometry, number theory, inversive geometry, vector analysis, and differential geometry.

The Legacy of Mario Pieri in Geometry and Arithmetic introduces readers to Pieri’s career and his studies in foundations, from both historical and modern viewpoints, placing his life and research in context and tracing his influence on his contemporaries as well as more recent mathematicians. The text also provides a glimpse of the Italian academic world of Pieri's time, and its relationship with the developing international mathematics community. Included in this volume are the first English translations, along with analyses, of two of his most important axiomatizations—his postulates for arithmetic, which Peano judged superior to his own; and his foundation of elementary geometry on the basis of point and sphere, which Alfred Tarski used as a basis for his own system.

Combining an engaging exposition, little-known historical information, exhaustive references and an excellent index, this text will be of interest to graduate students, researchers, and historians with a general knowledge of logic and advanced mathematics, and it requires no specialized experience in mathematical logic or the foundations of geometry.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 513 pages
• Publisher: Birkhäuser Boston; 1 edition (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817632107
• ISBN-13: 978-0817632106
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,028,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.