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    A Study Guide for G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology"
    A Study Guide for G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology"
    A Study Guide for G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology"
    Ebook43 pages31 minutes

    A Study Guide for G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    A Study Guide for G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Nonfiction Classics for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Nonfiction Classics for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateSep 20, 2016
    ISBN9781535816878
    A Study Guide for G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology"

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      A Study Guide for G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology" - Gale

      1

      A Mathematician's Apology

      G. H. Hardy

      1940

      Introduction

      Godfrey Harold (G. H.) Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology, first published in 1940 in England, is the memoir of the world-renowned mathematician, written in the last few years of his life while he was in failing health. The work is written in the form of an apology, which in literary terms means a defense. In this case, Hardy is defending his career as a theoretical mathematician. To make the defense comprehensible to the layperson, Hardy discards the language he would use in an academic paper and instead adopts a succinct and simple writing style aimed at a general audience. The book is not mathematical; rather, it is an affirmation of a career that happens to be mathematical and purely speculative.

      It should be noted that Hardy speaks exclusively of men in his writing, which reflects the secondary role women of his era played in the British university system in general and in the field of mathematics in particular. Hardy does not mention or refer to a single woman intellectual or a work by a woman.

      A Mathematician's Apology is a lasting testament to Hardy's passion for intellectual pursuits. Hardy likens mathematics to art and explains math in much the same way a critic explains art. He elaborates on the qualities of mathematical genius and the logical reasons for pursuing a career in mathematics, and he briefly outlines three of the most basic and timeless theorems in order to illustrate the inherent beauty of mathematics for the layperson. Many of the chapters also address the differences between theoretical or pure mathematics—to which Hardy dedicated his life—and several types of applied math, which he regards as largely inferior. The work also reveals the grave doubts Hardy harbored about the overall usefulness of his work and life. While A Mathematician's Apology has had an enormous influence on generations of mathematicians, it has also been viewed by many as a psychological document of a genius with depressive tendencies. As Hardy contemporary C. P. Snow acknowledges in the book's introduction, A Mathematician's Apology is a book of haunting sadness.

      Author Biography

      Godfrey Harold (G. H.) Hardy was born on February 7, 1877, in Cranleigh, Surrey, England. Both his parents were educators and possessed mathematical skills. Even before learning to speak as a very young child, he demonstrated an extraordinary IQ and performed mathematical computations to amuse himself. After winning a scholarship

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