In Code: A Mathematical Journey (Hardcover)

by Sarah Flannery (Author), David Flannery (Author) "There is a blackboard in our kitchen..." (more)
Key Phrases: Mathematical Excursions, Fermat's Little Theorem, Last Theorem (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
At 16, Flannery made worldwide headlines as Ireland's 1999 Young Scientist of the Year for her discovery and presentation of the Cayley-Purser algorithm, an innovative encryption system roughly 22 times faster than the worldwide standard RSA algorithm. She declines the "genius" label, and a method for cracking her algorithm has since been discovered, but this only makes the book more interesting and unpredictable. It's more about the journey's adventure than the destination and less about Sarah's specialness than her spirit. The mix is part memoir, part puzzle book and part mathematical exploration, with scattered bits of mathematical lore. (The heaviest math is concentrated into two chapters and the appendices, leaving the remainder easy going for the fainthearted.) The puzzle-solving approach to math cultivated by her father (and coauthor) encourages exploration, an adventurous attitude, attention to concepts more than calculations and sheer enjoyment of taking on a challenge. It's also more egalitarian than proof-based approaches, giving newcomers a more equal footing with old pros, emphasizing the process of discovery and making connections, which is more fundamental than finished proofs. All this is wonderfully illustrated by Flannery's own story of her rapidly developing interest and proficiency in cryptography, as well as by the puzzles she uses to get readers thinking and introduce some basic concepts. Other threads, running from brief descriptions of her grandparents to her father's teaching methods and her relationship to family in the face of a media frenzy, give her story added depth, warmth and humor. 8 pages of b&w photos. (June)Forecast: Workman is hoping to, and should, attract budding young mathematicians with a first printing of 35,000, a $65,000 marketing budget and an eight-city author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
"I have no doubt that I am not a genius," writes Sarah Flannery, the 16-year-old Irish girl who won first place in the 1999 European Union Contest for Young Scientists. Nonetheless, her project about public key cryptography, the method used to transmit secure data over the Internet, created a media sensation. Until a security hole was discovered, some believed that Sarah's encryption algorithm could be worth millions, and she became an instant celebrity. Though her mathematician father helped write this book, Sarah's own heartfelt enthusiasm is obvious. She is breathlessly excited to get a phone call from a mathematician whose papers she has read, frustrated by the difficult math in research journals, flattered by media attention, and genuinely intrigued by the mathematics of encryption, which she valiantly explains. A particularly touching moment comes when Sarah is overjoyed to see her dad because she finally has somebody who will talk with her about mathematics. The prize-winning contest paper is included as an appendix. Despite the advanced math discussed here, this will appeal to high school and college students because the author is a very young mathematician and does a commendable job of explaining how she got interested in such an intense science project. For public and college libraries. Amy Brunvand, Univ. of Utah Lib., Salt Lake City
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; 1st Am prntng edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761123849
• ISBN-13: 978-0761123842
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #808,657 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Girl's Guide to Cryptology and More, June 21, 2001

By	R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Number theory is the branch of mathematics that deals with counting numbers, 1, 2, 3... Sarah Flannery, born in 1982, entered that world because her father was a mathematician. What happened to Sarah is that she entered the number theory and cryptology world at age 16 with a science project that was new and original, and was a challenge to the way prime numbers were being used in the most popular of encryption systems. She has written _In Code: A Mathematical Journey_ (Workman Publishing) about how this happened, and its aftermath (or After Math, as a final section of the book is called). It is a delight. It is a book of mathematics, it is true, but it is also an inspiring look at a girl who had an exemplary upbringing and a strong streak of intellectual curiosity.

Central to Sarah's story is the blackboard in the dining room of her home. She grew up in the shadow of Blarney Castle, she and her four brothers raised by an independent-thinking pair of parents. At meals, the blackboard would be the focal point for discussion of puzzles. She gives plenty of these for the reader to work on. Some are familiar, like, "Given a five-liter jar and a three-liter jar and an unlimited supply of water, how do you measure out four liters exactly?" Some got into more difficult concepts: "How might you determine the average earnings of a group of people in a room (at a class reunion, perhaps) without any individual's divulging his or her salary?" This second puzzle gives a clue into getting information and hiding information, a theme throughout the book. (All the puzzles are left for the reader to work on, and such work will repay effort in understanding the book, but answers are given.)

Sarah repeatedly and sweetly apologizes for digging deep into number theory; before explaining matrices, she writes, "I promise that from then on there will be no more explicit mathematics, only light explanations of mathematical ideas." The main mathematical parts of the book are restricted to two chapters which she invites those who just can't stand the math to skim, and then there are appendices available for those who want to learn more. Sarah's project explained how the most famous current encoding system works, but before she was done, she had invented one of her own. She explains both systems and a lot of number theory along the way. She tells about her interactions with the judges for the competition, and the pressures that eventually resulted in her winning a silver trophy, a cash prize, fame, travel, and interactions with the media. Her lively descriptions of what happened after the newspapers got hold of the story of the genius girl are among the most amusing parts of the book; she and her family turned down a contract with Pepsi, but she did help in an article about herself which appeared in the Spice Girls pop magazine.

Here is a book full of mathematical ideas that are worth knowing about, and a bright, funny, modest young woman to lead us through them; Sarah denies that she is a genius, saying that she has met geniuses and that she does not have the spark that distinguishes genius from mere intelligence. Maybe so, but she is a likable author, and it is a delight to hear her describe with affection her parents who obviously know what they are doing. But perhaps the most inspiring part of the book is how well the mathematical community came together to nurture this newcomer. Time and again, experts who worked in the cryptology field were eager to help out. When it seemed that her new code system was patentable and might even make her a millionaire, Sarah got advice even from the mathematicians who might have shared in the bounty that, as one wrote her, "Mathematics should be above such mercenary nonsense!" Mathematical ideas should be freely shared by all, she agreed. It turns out that her system eventually proved vulnerable to attack, thus not quite as secure as the first system, but it doesn't matter. Sarah's book can easily be enjoyed by those who don't like math at all, and would be especially good reading for young people. It is full of happy discoveries in math, and discoveries about people, and it is wonderfully optimistic.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and very readable., September 7, 2001

By	P. Wung "Engineering is my vocation, volleyba... (Tipp City, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sarah Flannery is a most remarkable young woman. The story of how she approached her mathematics project and how she was able to discover the Cayley-Purser algorithm is fascinating.

Instead of giving the Reader's Digest version of the book, I will just say that she wrote the book in the same manner in which she approached her work, with a lot of vim and vigor. One can not but get excited with her as she felt her way through the mathematics and learn as she did, step by step the methods of cryptography. Not being one who is familiar with crytography per se but an amateurish afficionado of Number Theory, I found her explanations of the pertinent mathematics charming, refreshing and stimulating. Her intermittent puzzles were fun and illustrative. I recommend this for anyone wishing to inspire curious youngsters with mathematics.

The only quibble anyone could have with this book is the honesty and naivete exhibited by young Sarah, but then again, that is what is so attractive about this gem of a book that stands out amongst the jaded sea of mathematics book being cranked out by authors too cynical to be excited by the mathematical ideas they are writing about.

Be forewarned however, you must be atleast a bit amused by mathematics or you won't get the maximum pleasure out of this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gobsmackification (p. 190), August 5, 2001

By	James B. Duffy (Folsom, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This is one heck of a good book. It is unusually well written for any book and exceptionally so for its genre. In Code is clear, informative and, as John Naughton (A Brief History of the Future) writes, it is "...engaging, almost playful."

I hope I am a member of the Flannery's target audience. Although competent in basic mathematics and statistics, I know nothing about numbers theory and the other seemingly esoteric principles and concepts presented. Yet, for some time, I have been fascinated by information processing and cryptology. This book speaks to the reader as if (s)he were in a classroom with a gifted presenter as well as a gifted mathematician who, as we Americans say, "gets" the value of practical examples.

Beyond the above, I am better able to practice my trade as a result of reading this book; that very seldom happens.

I have an MA, am a member of MENSA and teach applied behavioral science in business settings. Among the subjects I address are problem solving and critical thinking. I am humbled by the use of puzzles to encourage thinking and inquiry beginning with Chapter 2. I wish I had David Flannery's gift of mentoring. I am revising my teaching to include as many individual and group challenging puzzles as I can get away with to accomplish what the Flannerys have done so admirably: teach in an applications-oriented, playful, genuinely enthusiatic and therefore memorable way.

I take the word "gobsmackification" to mean something like "it hit me right in the chops."

JBD, Folsom CA 8/4/2001