Love & Math

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Love Ampersand Math is an autobiography of sorts. It describes the story of Edward Frenkel, and how he was able to escape the oppression and anti-semitism of mid-1900s Russia (he was Jewish by law) to find a new life overseas. The book describes the discrimination and opposition that he faced, and all of the hurdles that he had to jump to become a mathematician.

And that right there is the catch, huh? Had Frenkel been shooting for a job in engineering or a career in sports or a publisher to take his writing, that story would be enough. A story of overcoming oppression to achieve a dream, a dream that is worth fighting for. But math is different. In the eyes of most people, math is something to be avoided, rather than something to work towards with all of your heart. So, while about half of the book is about Edwards’s story, the other half is a sort of manifesto in defense of and support for mathematics, a sharp rebuke of the idea that other careers and goals are more worthy of love than math is.

Frenkel makes his case by describing one specific project in math and physics, which is called the Langlands Program. I’ll leave the actual description of the Langlands Program for Frenkel, but on its broadest terms the program is an attempt to bring together multiple fields of math which seem completely unrelated to each other. The book goes through the history of the program, and the advancements that were made during (and sometimes because of) Frenkel's journey. This explanation of the program is mixed in with the narrative of Frenkel becoming a mathematician, so that the story and the math can take turns pulling the reader along.

Although Love & Math is on the whole a good read, I will say that it sometimes falls on both sides of the fine line between condescending and confusing. In particular, some of the mathy parts seemed confusing to me towards the end. I must point out, though, that I am particularly susceptible to confusion because I am currently taking a course in Galois Theory so I know exactly of the math to want to know more. The footnotes were very helpful, but still left me wanting for a proper summary or overview of terms. My advice for you is to just not worry about it; an understanding of the actual workings of the math is not necessary to enjoy Love & Math. This is ultimately the story of Edward Frenkel, and it sidesteps the nitty-gritty definitions and such in favor of getting a general sense of the systems involved.

So, yeah. If you're curious as to how and why a boy would scale 20-foot fences and go against the grain for a subject so dry and boring as mathematics, then consider picking up a copy of Love & Math. You might come out of it with a different view of mathematics than before.