Inspired by French mathematician Sophie Germain, MAA author Dora Musielak weaved a fascinating mathematical novel to put in perspective the coming of age of this incredible scholar.
Sophie Germain made important contributions to number theory and mathematical physics. She advanced the proof to Fermat's Last Theorem, a proof so challenging that it took many mathematicians' efforts and more than 300 years to complete.
History records the achievements of other great female mathematicians who lived before and accomplished as much, but Sophie Germain did it alone. Hypathia had her father, Theon of Alexandria to teach her; Maria Agnessi had her Rampinelli and other instructors; and Emilie Chatelet had Maupertuis and Clairaut as her tutors of mathematics. Sophie Germain had no teacher.
Starting with the scant biographical information available about Germain’s adolescence, Dora Musielak began to piece together a story of a young Parisian girl who discovers mathematics at the beginning of 1789, a time that coincides with the start of the bloody French Revolution. Armed with her own experience and love for mathematics, Dora Musielak develops a fictional character inspired by Sophie Germain. Using the format of a personal diary Musielak writes how the shy 13-year-old girl, who has been taught basic arithmetic by her father, begins to read about the ancient scholars and becomes fascinated by mathematics. Without a tutor to guide her Sophie reads everything relevant in her father’s library, and the more she reads the more she wants to learn mathematics. As the French Revolution builds up she begins to master algebra and arithmetic, and her hunger for knowledge intensifies.
Dora Musielak’s account sets in perspective the challenges of learning alone. Her fictional character Sophie, although timid and soft-spoken, is resourceful and develops the courage to approach those who might provide her with the tools to learn more.
MAA SPECTRUM BOOK
The second edition of Sophie's Diary is now published by the Mathematical Association of America, part of the MAA Spectrum Series.
Sophie’s Diary: A Mathematical Novel - ISBN: 978-0-88385-577-S, MAA Spectrum Series, April, 2012, 279 pages.
The book is available in hardcover and as ebook from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) store: http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/
The ebook can be purchased online at www.maa.org/ebooks/spectrum/SGD.html.
Reviews of Sophie's Diary
The book has received excellent reviews in the mathematical community.
Professor David Pengelley, Mathematical Sciences at New Mexico State University, praised Sophie's Diary in his review for Springer's journal The Mathematical Intelligencer www.springerlink.com/index/j327475n1347128x.pdf.
Review by Professor Eddie Philpott-Kent, chairman of the M500 Societyfrom the UK at http://www.m500.org.uk/index.htm.
Sophie’s Diary was also reviewed and recommended by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Reviews www.maa.org/reviews/SophiesDiary.html
The Spanish version, El Diario de Sofi, was also praised and recommended by Professor Jaime Arago, editor director of a university mathematical journal in Cali, Colombia, http://revistaerm.univalle.edu.co/.
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