The Millennium Problems: The Seven Greatest Unsolved Mathematical Puzzles of Our Time

In 2000, the Clay Foundation of Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced a historic competition: whoever could solve any of seven extraordinarily difficult mathematical problems, and have the solution acknowledged as correct by the experts, would receive 1 million in prize money. There was some precedent for doing this: in 1900 David Hilbert, one of the greatest mathematicians of his day, proposed twenty-three problems, now known as the Hilbert Problems, that set much of the agenda for mathematics in the twentieth century. The Millennium Problems are likely to acquire similar stature, and their solution (or lack of one) is likely to play a strong role in determining the course of mathematics in the current century. Keith Devlin, renowned expositor of mathematics, tells here what the seven problems are, how they came about, and what they mean for math and science. These problems are the brass rings held out to today’s mathematicians, glittering and just out of reach. In the hands of Keith Devlin, ＂the Math Guy＂ from NPR’s ＂Weekend Edition,＂ each Millennium Problem becomes a fascinating window onto the deepest and toughest questions in the field. For mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and everyone else with an interest in mathematics’ cutting edge, The Millennium Problems is the definitive account of a subject that will have a very long shelf life.

Keith Devlin is the Dean of the School of Social Science at St. Mary’s College, Moraga, California, and a Senior Researcher at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University. He is the author of 22 books, one interactive CD-ROM, and over 65 technical research papers in mathematics. His voice is heard regularly on National Public Radio, on such programs as ＂Weekend Edition,＂ ＂Talk of the Nation,＂ ＂Science Friday,＂ ＂Sounds Like Science,＂ and ＂To the Best of Our Knowledge.＂ His previous books include Life by the Numbers, the companion to a PBS series that aired in April and May, 1998; Goodbye Descartes: The End of Logic; and The Language of Mathematics: Making the Invisible Visible.