omg I just took a look at Apostol's "Mathematical Analysis"

InquilineKea
Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:45:55 +0000

LOL AT MATHWONK’S REVIEW OF PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA



I have not read this book. I tried, having been fascinated by logic and mathematics since high school, but it has absolutely nothing to offer most people. in fact I find it hard to believe anyone has ever read this book. The 4 and 5 star reviews on this page should be taken as evidence there are some people out there with very different taste from mine, and I bet yours. In fact I have difficulty believing they are serious.

I think only a fanatic could enjoy reading this book, certainly not a budding mathematician. If you are attracted by a book that proves 1+1 = 2 somewhere after 100 pages, this is the book for you!

I admit I have been surprized before at what some people find interesting, but the idea that anyone would pay 5 or 6 hundred dollars for the set! the publishers seem to me to be sniffing glue. (I have a PhD in mathematics, a mathematical library costing thousands of dollars, and tried to read this work at Harvard as a young math student.)

To call this book influential, is to me really ridiculous, since I suspect few people have even looked at it in the last half of the 20th century, nor would want to do so at any length, in my opinion.

But don’t take my word for it, go to your scientific library and check it out for yourself. You might like it, but I seriously doubt it. I did not intend to review this book, but some of the reviews here really defy belief. I could not let them pass without comment.

One must assume those reviewers here are serious who praise it, but I suggest almost no mathematics student need give it more than a passing look. The review that stated something like “if you do not already know you want this book, then you do not” is pretty accurate.

OK, a quick re reading of reviews here shows many of them say truthfully that this book is only appropriate for a very small group of readers. However I would suggest that group does not even include most mathematicians. The ones who like it are apparently philosophers, and some are the sort who resort to calling people stupid who disagree with them.