{"product_id":"reaching-for-the-extreme-how-the-quest-for-the-biggest-fewest-and-weirdest-makes-math-9780691268996","title":"Reaching for the Extreme: How the Quest for the Biggest, Fewest, and Weirdest Makes Math","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom bestselling author and mathematician Ian Stewart, the fascinating story of the extreme problems that have driven math forward from antiquity to today \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Stewart has a genius for explanation.\"--\u003ci\u003eNew Scientist\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMany of the deepest and most important areas of mathematics have emerged from questions about extremes--the shortest path between two points on a curved surface, the smallest area spanning a wire, or the fewest colors needed to make a map. Mathematicians have been pushing restlessly toward extremes for thousands of years. The isoperimetric problem, for example--which asks for the shortest route enclosing a given area--can be traced to ancient Carthage. By contrast, it was only in 2017 that the densest ways to pack identical spheres into a 24-dimensional space was proven. In \u003ci\u003eReaching for the Extreme\u003c\/i\u003e, bestselling author Ian Stewart, one of the world's most popular writers on mathematics, presents a dazzling, wide-ranging tour of math's outer limits. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eStewart tells the stories of sixteen superlative problems--their history, the struggles to solve them, and the uses of some of the results. From the biggest number to the smallest, the fastest fall to the weirdest symmetry, and the best fold to the shortest proof, these questions are either pure thought experiments or are motivated by real-world challenges. The Plateau problem, about the geometry of soap bubbles, led to the notion of a minimal surface--now used in cosmology, biology, and other fields. Meanwhile, the 2023 discovery of a single tile shape that covers the infinite plane without repeating the same pattern has no application--yet. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eReaching for the Extreme\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates how mathematicians drive knowledge forward by reaching for the edges and solving some of the world's most fascinating problems.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ian Stewart\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/24\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.10w x 1.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691268996\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIan Stewart\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning mathematician and bestselling author of many popular math books, including \u003ci\u003eProfessor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Do Dice Play God?\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSignificant Figures\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Calculating the Cosmos\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e In Pursuit of the Unknown\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Professor Stewart's Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries\u003c\/i\u003e. He is professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Warwick and a fellow of the Royal Society.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Ian Stewart \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47792915021981,"sku":"9780691268996","price":47.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_0a937896-3533-40ce-bff3-b24484ad9860.jpg?v=1774984698","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/reaching-for-the-extreme-how-the-quest-for-the-biggest-fewest-and-weirdest-makes-math-9780691268996","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}