A Mathematician's Apology
A Mathematician's Apology is a book about mathematics which was written in 1940.
Overview
It was written by a British mathematician called G. H. Hardy (1877—1947).[1] He used the essay to try to justify spending his life working on mathematics. It is said he wrote it for two reasons:
- He was getting old and found it more difficult to work on mathematics. He spent time writing the essay instead because discovering new mathematical ideas was now too hard for him.
- He believed that mathematics should be investigated for interest, instead of for making other things like weapons.
References
- ↑ "Hardy biography". www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician's Apology, Cambridge University Press (1940). 153 pages. ISBN 0-521-42706-1.