What do you think?
Rate this book
The Equations: Icons of Knowledge
The mysteries of the physical world speak to us through equations--compact statements about the way nature works, expressed in nature's language, mathematics. In this book by the renowned Dutch physicist Sander Bais, the equations that govern our world unfold in all their formal grace--and their deeper meaning as core symbols of our civilization. Trying to explain science without equations is like trying to explain art without illustrations. Consequently Bais has produced a book that, unlike any other aimed at nonscientists, delves into the details--historical, biographical, practical, philosophical, and mathematical--of seventeen equations that form the very basis of what we know of the universe today. A mathematical objet d'art in its own right, the book conveys the transcendent excitement and beauty of these icons of knowledge as they reveal and embody the fundamental truths of physical reality. These are the seventeen equations that represent radical turning points in our understanding--from mechanics to electrodynamics, hydrodynamics to relativity, quantum mechanics to string theory--their meanings revealed through the careful and critical observation of patterns and motions in nature. Mercifully short on dry theoretical elaborations, the book presents these equations as they are--with the information about their variables, history, and applications that allows us to chart their critical function, and their crucial place, in the complex web of modern science. Reading The Equations , we can hear nature speaking to us in its native language.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Sander Bais
9 books3 followersSander Bais is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam and External Faculty Member of the Santa Fe Institute. He is the author of The Equations: Icons of Knowledge and Very Special Relativity: An Illustrated Guide.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 6, 2012
Finally a popular science book that dares to use formulas ! A very well done approach to explain the state of today"s physics by the formulas it uses. And it"s still quite up to date too.
September 26, 2024
Het is een mooi boek om te zien en leuk om passages uit te lezen, maar van A tot Z blijft het niet genoeg boeien. (Wellicht zou een serie 3blue1brown videos met precies deze tekst wel werken voor mij.)
Het voelt ook erg als een pensionado-boek, een boek wat mannen met tijd lezen om zich slim te voelen. Er komt geen vrouw in voor, er is niks wat de huidige status qua uitdaagd.
Het voelt ook erg als een pensionado-boek, een boek wat mannen met tijd lezen om zich slim te voelen. Er komt geen vrouw in voor, er is niks wat de huidige status qua uitdaagd.
December 8, 2025
(review mainly in English even if the book was in Italian, it just came out that way! Sorry)
I really enjoyed this book!
Maybe "enjoy" is an overstatement: math is more of a hobby and the contents are certainly challenging, for an apprentice with an old degree in Economics like me.
I was reading slowly and then decided to tackle one equation per day. I needed the brain breaks in between equations.
I really loved the book design: how information was organized, and easily found throughout the book.
"La mappa dei contenuti" at page 10 was really clear to follow through the various discoveries, chronologically and in terms of connections between the various theories.
Did I understand everything? Absolutely not.
Do I know now what a "lagrangiana" his? No way.
Did I get a hint of the awesomeness of it all? Abosultely yes. And I am so grateful for that!
Math, for me is a journey and I am searching for pebbles to toy my brain with. And this book has been like a bag of marbles to play with at the beach: I do not fully understand what's going on, but I do have fun and sometimes I get a glimpse of the bigger meanings. I am sure this is one of those books that I will come back to, when I'll continue on my math journey and find out new things or have deja-vus. And I am optimistic that the area of the things I'll understand will grow bigger and bigger, thanks to Sander Bais's book as well.
I really enjoyed this book!
Maybe "enjoy" is an overstatement: math is more of a hobby and the contents are certainly challenging, for an apprentice with an old degree in Economics like me.
I was reading slowly and then decided to tackle one equation per day. I needed the brain breaks in between equations.
I really loved the book design: how information was organized, and easily found throughout the book.
"La mappa dei contenuti" at page 10 was really clear to follow through the various discoveries, chronologically and in terms of connections between the various theories.
Did I understand everything? Absolutely not.
Do I know now what a "lagrangiana" his? No way.
Did I get a hint of the awesomeness of it all? Abosultely yes. And I am so grateful for that!
Math, for me is a journey and I am searching for pebbles to toy my brain with. And this book has been like a bag of marbles to play with at the beach: I do not fully understand what's going on, but I do have fun and sometimes I get a glimpse of the bigger meanings. I am sure this is one of those books that I will come back to, when I'll continue on my math journey and find out new things or have deja-vus. And I am optimistic that the area of the things I'll understand will grow bigger and bigger, thanks to Sander Bais's book as well.
Il miracolo non è tanto la complessità del nostro mondo, quanto la semplicità delle equazioni che lo descrivono
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews