Mathematics and Culture IV: v. 4

Gaudi’s dream which will be reached finalizing the construction of the "Sagrada Familia" in Barcelona, the victory of the Swiss sail boat "Alinghi", which won America’s Cup, films such as " A Beautiful Mind" and "Enigma", the theatrical play based on the life of Galois, the images of the Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher, crypotography, comics. What all these topics have in common? Mathematics, of course. This book focuses on the important role of mathematics in culture. It shows how very complex links between mathematics and culture can be not only interesting and stimulating but also fun.

Mathematical themes have been explored in many recent films, plays and books. This volume, whose aim is the popularization of mathematics, contains a series of accounts which show in these cultural contexts that mathematics is a vibrant and intriguing subject for the non-specialist. In the same spirit, other contributions cover mathematics in art, architecture, cryptography, and the medical and physical sciences.