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The Enjoyment of Math
The Enjoyment of
Math
OTTO TOEPLITZ
PRINCETON OXFORD
Published 1957 by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
99 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6JX
press.princeton.edu
v
c ont e nt s
26. The Indispensability of the Compass for the Constructions
of Elementary Geometry 177
27. A Property of the Number 30 187
28. An Improved Inequality 192
Notes and Remarks 197
vi
Foreword
The art form of mathematics is well-known to have a marketing prob
lem. The great German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss famously
said, “Mathematics is the queen of science.”1 And yet this queen, direct-
ly responsible for much of our modern existence and all its extranatural
comforts, is greatly underappreciated, if not outright despised, by most
of the educated public. I c an’t tell you how many people I’ve met who
have told me, “I hate math.” Upon further prodding, they’ll admit that
in fact they loved math up to Subject X (where X might be calculus, or
trigonometry, or algebra, or whatever), and then Subject X + 1 was the
worst and they’ve hated math ever since. (Upon even further prodding,
it turns out they really hated their teacher in Subject X + 1, hence never
learning it properly, and everything thereafter was gobbledygook. Many
of them also admit that as adults, they love struggling to solve difficult
puzzles like Sudoku, KenKen, and so forth).
You don’t hear such statements nearly as often about a closely related
subject, physics. I’ve always wondered why. For one explanation, physics
is less often a requirement in school, so the only people subjected to its
rigors are there voluntarily. Another, perhaps, and much closer to the
discussion at hand, is that a g reat number of Nobel laureate physicists
write public accounts of their discoveries, wowing us with faraway galax-
ies, quantum field theories, Earth-like Goldilocks planets, black holes,
quantum entanglement, and so on. The record for mathematicians of
the highest caliber “wasting” their immense talents and invaluable time
by trying to reason with the general public is far, far sparser.
This is what makes the present book all the more remarkable. H ere
are two world- renowned mathematicians making a valiant attempt
at showing the public some true gems of our beloved subject. Hans
Rademacher and Otto Toeplitz were preeminent researchers who made
fundamental contributions to twentieth-century mathematics. Toeplitz,
born in 1881 in Breslau (modern-day Poland) to a Jewish family, cut his
teeth at the University of Gottingen, which was the mathematical home
of everyone from Gauss to Riemann to his own teachers Hilbert, Klein,
and Minkowski. When the Nazis came to power, Toeplitz was dismissed
from his professorship at Bonn, and he moved to the Hebrew Universi-
1
He continued, “and Number Theory”—which features heavily in the book
before you—“is the queen of Mathematics.”
vii
f oreword
ty in Jerusalem, where he died in 1940 from tuberculosis. Rademacher,
about a decade Toeplitz’s junior, hailed from the Hamburg area and
overlapped with his coauthor in Gottingen, where he earned his PhD
in 1916. While Rademacher was racially acceptable to the Nazis, his
pacifist views were not, and he was likewise dismissed from his position
at the University of Breslau. Rademacher moved to the United States to
take an assistant professorship at the University of Pennsylvania (despite
already having served a decade as a full professor in Germany), from
which he retired in 1962, passing away not long a fter in 1969. Their
combined interest in and passion for popularizing mathematics, crys-
talized over many lectures to the public, came to fruition as Von Zahlen
und Figuren, released in German in 1930 and translated into the text
before you in 1957.
The topics presented within are not the recreational material one
sometimes encounters; these are the “real deal.” The first chapter, for
example, begins with Euclid’s argument that the prime numbers are
plentiful: for any finite collection of them, more exist; this is followed
immediately with a contradistinction: one may chance upon an arbi-
trarily long distance between one prime to the next. Such issues are
quite deep, forming the basis of ongoing research today, and yet their
presentation here is completely “elementary,” in the sense of not re-
quiring any technical knowledge beyond the fifth grade. Instead, what
this book asks of its audience is a penchant for finding t hese questions
of interest, as well as the determination and stamina to chew over
the arguments presented until they coalesce. This duality of render-
ing advanced disciplines in an elementary style applies to most of the
topics presented, ranging from geometry and arithmetic to topology
and graph theory. Some chapters, like that describing the Four-Color
Problem (now a theorem, resolved only in 1976), describe the state of
things in the 1930s but of course not our present-day understanding.
Other chapters present topics that have since been showcased in new
ways to the public. For example, chapter 25 discusses curves of constant
breadth; today, someone wanting to learn about such curves can visit
the National Museum of Mathematics in New York City and take a spin
on some non-spherical coasters which nonetheless ride smoothly.
Overall, the topics seem to me on the advanced side for today’s
general audience. Maybe today we know more about what the general
public can and cannot typically follow. Or maybe previous generations
experienced so much more daily hardship that a few hours of struggle
with a mathematical chapter (or just a paragraph, or even a sentence)
viii
f ore word
would, by comparison, not seem so insurmountable. On the other
hand, I’m reminded of a story that Keith Devlin, the author of Introduc-
tion to Mathematical Thinking and other popular math books, told me
some time ago about the first time he wrote something and submitted it
to a local newspaper. The editor told him that he’d be delighted to have
him contribute something, but what Keith had written was way too com
plicated for the audience. He’d need to craft something that people
could read for five minutes over a cup of coffee (and when Keith’s me
dium moved to radio, he was similarly told that his topic needed to be
digestible while the average Joe was pumping his gas). Now, by keeping
his material accessible, Keith has been tremendously successful with
communicating with the public.
But the modern experience of mass media, with significantly less gate
keeping and editorializing, has shown several things about the public
audience. In defiance of conventional media wisdom, audiences have an
appetite for long-form content, whether it’s a fourteen-hour Netflix
show or an extended series of podcasts, and this has proven true across
virtually all varieties of content form and subject matter. People will
gladly watch, by the millions and tens of millions, videos on very ad
vanced graduate-level mathematics, when presented by masters of expo
sition like the YouTube channels 3Blue1Brown, Veritasium, and many
others. All this is to say that, perhaps if this book were to be proposed
today, its authors might be told by editors to water-down the subjects
and discussion; but since it has already achieved a significant amount of
success, it has earned its right to be as it is, and it remains an essential
entry point for those audiences who hunger for a deeper exploration of
mathematics. I sincerely hope that you, dear reader, will give its message
the time required to struggle with the difficult, important, and timeless
material; you will be greatly rewarded.
We seem to be in a bit of a renaissance for math exposition, both in
terms of mathematicians showing greater respect for expository writing
and in the appreciation of the general public for books like these. Let
us hope that another generation may be inspired by the writings within.
ix
Preface
Our gates are all closed tight, and occasionally we hear thundering
down Legation Street as whole troops of half-starved horses, ponies,
and donkeys (animals which have been left by their owners in their
stables, and which have managed by some means to free
themselves, either by looters untying them, or perhaps fire freeing
them), dash past at top speed all together in a fury of liberty
regained. And dangerous it is for anyone to be on the road when
one of these wild troops race down the street, for he will certainly be
trampled to death. After a time these mad collections of animals
become tame and quiet from hunger and exhaustion, and are willing
enough to be led into almost any courtyard. Everything is unusual in
this wonderful Peking. This morning I walked with Colonel Churchill
and Captain Mallory on the Tartar Wall and down it to the Ha Ta Men
Gate, where we went down the Ramp and walked all over the
tremendously exposed German and French lines with their
barricades and defences. In the German compound the havoc
wrought is unimaginable. Whole sides of the houses have been
battered down, in some instances one or two walls only left
standing; and as for the French compound, every house, every
building, and every wall has been levelled to old Mother Earth again,
and nothing but the little house of the concierge at the gate, which
flies the French flag, is left standing.
On seeing this one can understand why the French at the
conference not only wanted Peking to be looted and sacked, but to
be burnt as well. As the whole place can be inspected now, Mr.
Gamewell tells me that four big mines, almost completed, have been
found, and, had not the allies arrived when they did, that the
following night would have seen some terrific explosions in the
British Legation, the Hanlin Library, and on the Tartar Wall even. The
mortality of the siege would thus have been doubled by twenty-four
hours’ further delay by our troops.
Baron von Ketteler’s body was accidentally discovered on the 16th
by the Russian troops who were passing near the Tsung-li Yamen,
very near the spot where he had been murdered. The body had
been thrown into an old wooden box and left. The polite
communication which had been sent to the Baroness von Ketteler
during the semi-armistice days of the siege that her husband’s body
was lying in state at the Tsung-li Yamen was thus proved to be an
utter fabrication on their part. To-day his formal obsequies took
place in the German Legation, the doyen of the Corps, the Spanish
Minister, reading a short address, which was as well put as it was as
hard for Baroness von Ketteler to hear. I did not go to the ceremony,
however, for I felt as if I had attended more than enough to last me
the rest of a long life.
Although the allies arrived on the afternoon of the 14th, it was not
until the afternoon of the 16th that the Japanese troops went to the
relief of the Pei-t’ang, where Archbishop Favier had held his own so
long. They had had tremendous losses by attack and mines which
exploded in their midst—300 Chinese converts killed, 75 orphan
children, and 60 foreigners, including 2 French officers who had
been sent with the 20 French marines to help them at the beginning
of the siege.
This huge fortified cathedral was the only other mission in or
about Peking which was strong enough to hold out. At four o’clock
they were relieved, and at seven o’clock the French Minister arrived
to make inquiries about his compatriots. All the commanders who
have inspected the Pei-t’ang say its defence was a wonderful one.
At every meal now Mrs. Squiers’s guests are most numerous,
charming, and interesting. The servants seem to be all back, and
although the days are filled with incredible stories of what the
different nationalities are “doing” in Peking, our evenings are always
delightful, as they are made up of the companionship of the most
delightful men in Peking, who, when they arrive to dine, throw off
the disagreeable features of these war times, and devote themselves
with happiness to this opportunity, probably their first for many
weeks, of enjoying the ordinary cheerful amenities of life; and while
these nice parties smack of the camp—for everyone is in uniform—it
only makes things more interesting, for they help to cheer up the
tired siege people. It is the same everywhere in the different
Legations: each nationality is surrounded by its military, with a
sprinkling of more or less unattached secretaries and Ministers
Plenipotentiary, who are temporarily without Legations to go to or
troops to attend to.
Sir Robert Hart is very busy with his mountain-high accumulated
Customs work to be attended to, but he manages often to drop in to
tiffin or dinner.
Colonel Mills, General Chaffee’s Chief of Staff, an old friend of our
host’s, comes frequently to this hospitable house, as does Colonel
Waller, a delightful person, with his young officers, Lieutenant David
Porter and Lieutenant Harding. Colonel Mallory and Colonel Churchill,
the British Military Attaché to Tokyo, who is an old friend of mine,
and many other charming people, would make this list a long one
should I attempt to make it complete.
COAL HILL
We climbed the Coal Hill, and got the only view I ever had of the
Purple City. We were at such a height that we could look right down
and get a good glimpse of the plan of these palaces, besides
obtaining a gorgeous general View of the whole Imperial City. On
descending the hill, I must say I was disappointed that the palaces
in this Holy of Holies were not more imposing. They were low, long
buildings constructed of the gorgeous Imperial yellow tiles. The
extraordinarily rich colouring of these buildings made one forget
momentarily the plainly low architectural lines. Unfortunately, we
had no permission to enter these closely-guarded, mysterious
precincts. We hated to leave this spot of beautiful trees, long
avenues and vistas, and, above all, the pure air, to return to our half-
burnt, wholly ill-smelling Legation district.
At nine o’clock all the Anglo-Saxons sang a Te Deum on the
tennis-court. Mr. Norris conducted the service, and Dr. Smith, the
author of “Chinese Characteristics,” made a most stirring address.
We all surely sang it with hearts full of a thankfulness we had rarely
ever before felt.
August 20.
To-day I took a walk all over the German lines with Mr. von
Bergen, Second Secretary of the Legation, and, in fact, all over our
old siege lines, and said a cheerful good-bye to it all. To-night Mrs.
Squiers has a farewell dinner, and to-morrow, at 6.30 a.m., we start
with ourselves and our baggage in United States Army schooners en
route to Tungchow, where we take primitive houseboats to sail down
the Pei-ho to Tien-tsin. A detachment from the 9th United States
Infantry is to accompany us, and everything is to be very military in
this escort for the first convoy. How absurd to compare my coming
to Peking and my leaving it! I came up on Sir Robert Hart’s private
car in a few hours, and will go down to the coast in an antiquated
Chinese boat, which will take as many days as the train took hours.
And so, floating down the river, I will have much time to think quietly
about this wonderful siege, to forget the disagreeable and the bad,
and to remember the great and the good.
INDEX
Legations:
Boxer outrages, 7 et seq.;
arrival of the marines, 15;
weakness of the American, 18, 31;
waiting for the relief party, 21, 27;
attempts to burn, 25 et seq.;
alarming state of, 31;
rescue of Chinese Christians, 35 et seq.;
Chinese offer an escort to the coast, 42, 159;
murder of Baron von Ketteler, 45, 194;
strength of the British Legation, 48, 72;
American women and children transferred to the British, 48, 50;
American missionaries brought in, 49;
life in, 50 et seq., 119 et seq.;
evacuation and burning of the Belgian, 56;
attempt on the Dutch, 57;
supply of food, 58 et seq., 86, 108 et seq., 160;
in great danger, 61 et seq.;
evacuation of Austrian and fright of the French, 63;
general panic, 64;
fighting the fire, 65 et seq.;
the crowded hospital, 74, 90, 91, 102, 103, 105, 116, 142, 143;
a sortie, 75;
murder of Dr. James, 76;
armistice, 78;
renewed attacks on, 80 et seq.;
attack on German, 92 et seq.;
an unsuccessful sortie, 95;
racial friendships and animosities, 95, 96, 121, 122, 135;
Japanese valour, 97;
boldness of the Chinese, 98;
successful charge down the wall, 99, 100;
funerals, 102 et seq.;
discovery and successful use of an old cannon, 115, 116;
plague of flies, 123, 124;
Captain Strouts mortally wounded, 125;
a bad day, 125 et seq.,
wave of despondency, 129 et seq.;
a missionary becomes insane, 131;
communications with the Yamen, 132-134, 136, 145, 151, 159,
163, 169;
Chinese send in food, 138;
news of the relief force, 140;
a chicken episode, 146;
messenger sent to Tien-tsin, 149;
description of the barricades, 151 et seq.;
letters from Tien-tsin, 157;
food running short, 160;
more severe attacks, 165, 168, 171;
good news, 167;
arrival of the relief force, 171 et seq.;
the question of loot, 191;
the state of the German Legation, 193;
discovery of mines, 193
Velde, Dr., German surgeon at Peking, the excellence of his work, 73,
109, 113, 143
Waller, Colonel, 177, 196
Warren, Mr., mortally wounded, 124
Water Gate, entry of Sikhs through the, 174
THE END
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