Customer Reviews

I am a mathematician, the later life of a prodigy; an autobiographical account of the mature years and career of Norbert Wiener and a continuation of the account of his childhood in Ex-prodigy

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The stories about Norbert Wiener's absent-mindedness are legendary, yet so prevalent and supported by so many sources that they almost certainly are true. Yet, his writings are clear and follow specific trains of thought. This book is an autobiography of his later years, which were simultaneously some of the critical years for the survival of western civilization. They cover the years of the great depression, sandwiched between the first and second world wars.
His account deals very little with his mathematical work, which is mentioned, but only the sparsest of details are offered. The story line is largely what he was doing in the last two-thirds of his life, the places he traveled to and the people he met. And travel he did. From the perspective of the twenty-first century, we tend to consider mathematics in the first half of the twentieth to have been essentially a European activity. However, Wiener spent a great deal of time in China, Japan and India. This was refreshing to read, as trips to such countries rarely appear in other accounts of those years.
Wiener basically is described as a man who worked hard in spurts and takes a great deal of time traveling the world. Without stating it in those terms, he is described as a cultured European style gentleman, interested in the areas of the world beyond mathematics. I found this refreshing, as so many stories about him describe a man so self-absorbed that he can barely walk across the street without help.
While I did enjoy the book, the lack of greater detail about his mathematical work was disappointing. Additional descriptions of his work at the level of a popular audience would have made it more interesting for all people interested in Wiener and his work.