

Number Theory
A Very Short Introduction
Author: Robin Wilson
Narrator: Al Kessel
Unabridged: 7 hr 16 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 07/31/2020
Categories: Nonfiction, Mathematics
Synopsis
But number theory has also recently become of great practical importance—in the area of cryptography, where the security of your credit card, and indeed of the nation's defense, depends on a result concerning prime numbers that dates back to the eighteenth century. Recent years have witnessed other spectacular developments, such as Andrew Wiles's proof of "Fermat's last theorem" (unproved for over 250 years) and some exciting work on prime numbers. In this Very Short Introduction Robin Wilson introduces the main areas of classical number theory, both ancient and modern. Drawing on the work of many of the greatest mathematicians of the past, such as Euclid, Fermat, Euler, and Gauss, he situates some of the most interesting and creative problems in the area in their historical context.