Geometry of Grief: Reflections on Mathematics, Loss, and Life
176 ratings by Goodreads
Language: English
Published by University of Chicago Press, 2021
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: Goodwill of Colorado, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, U.S.A.Goodwill of Colorado
5-star seller
AbeBooks seller since March 19, 2024
Hardcover
Condition: Used - Good
US$ 18.15
Free Shipping
Ships within U.S.A.
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketFree 30-day returns
Item description from seller
All pages and cover are intact. Dust jacket included if applicable, though it may be missing on hardcover editions. Spine and cover may show minor signs of wear including scuff marks, curls or bends to corners as well as cosmetic blemishes including stickers. Pages may contain limited notes or highlighting. "From the library of" labels may be present. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set packaging may be missing. Bundled media e.g., CDs, DVDs, access codes may not be included.
Seller Inventory # COLV.022680092X.G
- Title
- Geometry of Grief: Reflections on Mathematics, Loss, and Life
- Author
- Frame, Michael
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Publication year
- 2021
- Condition
- good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 022680092X
- ISBN 13
- 9780226800929
In this profound and hopeful book, a mathematician and celebrated teacher shows how mathematics may help all of us—even the math-averse—to understand and cope with grief.
We all know the euphoria of intellectual epiphany—the thrill of sudden understanding. But coupled with that excitement is a sense of loss: a moment of epiphany can never be repeated. In Geometry of Grief, mathematician Michael Frame draws on a career’s worth of insight—including his work with a pioneer of fractal geometry Benoit Mandelbrot—and a gift for rendering the complex accessible as he delves into this twinning of understanding and loss. Grief, Frame reveals, can be a moment of possibility.
Frame investigates grief as a response to an irrevocable change in circumstance. This reframing allows us to see parallels between the loss of a loved one or a career and the loss of the elation of first understanding a tricky concept. From this foundation, Frame builds a geometric model of mental states. An object that is fractal, for example, has symmetry of magnification: magnify a picture of a mountain or a fern leaf—both fractal—and we see echoes of the original shape. Similarly, nested inside great loss are smaller losses. By manipulating this geometry, Frame shows us, we may be able to redirect our thinking in ways that help reduce our pain. Small‐scale losses, in essence, provide laboratories to learn how to meet large-scale losses.
Interweaving original illustrations, clear introductions to advanced topics in geometry, and wisdom gleaned from his own experience with illness and others’ remarkable responses to devastating loss, Frame’s poetic book is a journey through the beautiful complexities of mathematics and life. With both human sympathy and geometrical elegance, it helps us to see how a geometry of grief can open a pathway for bold action.
We all know the euphoria of intellectual epiphany—the thrill of sudden understanding. But coupled with that excitement is a sense of loss: a moment of epiphany can never be repeated. In Geometry of Grief, mathematician Michael Frame draws on a career’s worth of insight—including his work with a pioneer of fractal geometry Benoit Mandelbrot—and a gift for rendering the complex accessible as he delves into this twinning of understanding and loss. Grief, Frame reveals, can be a moment of possibility.
Frame investigates grief as a response to an irrevocable change in circumstance. This reframing allows us to see parallels between the loss of a loved one or a career and the loss of the elation of first understanding a tricky concept. From this foundation, Frame builds a geometric model of mental states. An object that is fractal, for example, has symmetry of magnification: magnify a picture of a mountain or a fern leaf—both fractal—and we see echoes of the original shape. Similarly, nested inside great loss are smaller losses. By manipulating this geometry, Frame shows us, we may be able to redirect our thinking in ways that help reduce our pain. Small‐scale losses, in essence, provide laboratories to learn how to meet large-scale losses.
Interweaving original illustrations, clear introductions to advanced topics in geometry, and wisdom gleaned from his own experience with illness and others’ remarkable responses to devastating loss, Frame’s poetic book is a journey through the beautiful complexities of mathematics and life. With both human sympathy and geometrical elegance, it helps us to see how a geometry of grief can open a pathway for bold action.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Michael Frame retired in 2016 as adjunct professor of mathematics at Yale University. He is coauthor of Fractal Worlds: Grown, Built, and Imagined and coeditor of Benoit Mandelbrot: A Life in Many Dimensions.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Goodwill of Colorado
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, U.S.A.
5-star seller
AbeBooks seller since March 19, 2024
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 7 to 10 business days | 4 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | US$ 0.00 | US$ 9.99 |
Payment methods
Store description
For over half a century, Goodwill of Colorado has been dedicated to breaking the financial, physical, intellectual and social barriers that keep individuals from leading independent and purpose-filled lives. We accomplish this mission through over 40 diverse and innovative employment and life skills programs that foster confidence and opportunity for individuals with economic and development challenges.
Seller's business information
Goodwill of Colorado
1460 West Garden of the Gods Road
Colorado Springs, CO U.S.A. 80907