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Ian Stewart (mathematician)
Encyclopedia
Ian Nicholas Stewart FRS (born 24 September 1945) is a professor of mathematics
at the University of Warwick
, England, and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction writer. He is the first recipient of the Christopher Zeeman Medal, awarded jointly by the LMS
and the IMA
for his work on promoting mathematics.
at school, Stewart came to the attention of the mathematics teacher. The teacher had Stewart sit mock A-level examinations without any preparation along with the upper-sixth students; Stewart placed first in the examination. This teacher arranged for Stewart to be admitted to Cambridge on a scholarship to Churchill College
, where he obtained a BA in Mathematics. Stewart then went to the University of Warwick for his doctorate, on completion of which in 1969 he was offered an academic position at Warwick. He is now Professor of Mathematics
at the University of Warwick. He is well known for his popular expositions of mathematics and his contributions to catastrophe theory
.
While at Warwick he edited the mathematical magazine Manifold
. He also wrote a column called "Mathematical Recreations" for Scientific American
magazine for several years.
Stewart has held visiting academic positions in Germany (1974), New Zealand (1976), and the U.S. (University of Connecticut
1977–78, University of Houston
1983–84).
In 1995 Stewart received the Michael Faraday Medal and in 1997 he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001.
He has collaborated with Dr Jack Cohen
and Terry Pratchett
on three popular science
books based on Pratchett's Discworld
. In 1999 Terry Pratchett
made both Jack Cohen
and Professor Ian Stewart "Honorary Wizards of the Unseen University" at the same ceremony at which the University of Warwick gave Terry Pratchett an honorary degree
.
Stewart has published more than 140 scientific papers
, including a series of influential papers co-authored with Jim Collins
on coupled oscillators and the symmetry of animal gaits.
Stewart was married to his wife, Avril, in 1970. They met at a party at a house Avril was renting while she trained as a nurse. They have two sons. He lists his recreations as science fiction, painting, guitar, keeping fish, geology, Egyptology and snorkeling.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
, England, and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction writer. He is the first recipient of the Christopher Zeeman Medal, awarded jointly by the LMS
London Mathematical Society
-See also:* American Mathematical Society* Edinburgh Mathematical Society* European Mathematical Society* List of Mathematical Societies* Council for the Mathematical Sciences* BCS-FACS Specialist Group-External links:* * *...
and the IMA
Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications is the UK's chartered professional body for mathematicians and one of the UK's learned societies for mathematics ....
for his work on promoting mathematics.
Biography
Stewart was born in 1945 in England. While in the sixth formSixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
at school, Stewart came to the attention of the mathematics teacher. The teacher had Stewart sit mock A-level examinations without any preparation along with the upper-sixth students; Stewart placed first in the examination. This teacher arranged for Stewart to be admitted to Cambridge on a scholarship to Churchill College
Churchill College, Cambridge
Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.In 1958, a Trust was established with Sir Winston Churchill as its Chairman of Trustees, to build and endow a college for 60 fellows and 540 Students as a national and Commonwealth memorial to Winston Churchill; its...
, where he obtained a BA in Mathematics. Stewart then went to the University of Warwick for his doctorate, on completion of which in 1969 he was offered an academic position at Warwick. He is now Professor of Mathematics
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the University of Warwick. He is well known for his popular expositions of mathematics and his contributions to catastrophe theory
Catastrophe theory
In mathematics, catastrophe theory is a branch of bifurcation theory in the study of dynamical systems; it is also a particular special case of more general singularity theory in geometry....
.
While at Warwick he edited the mathematical magazine Manifold
Manifold (magazine)
Manifold was a mathematical magazine published at the University of Warwick. Its philosophy was "It is possible to be serious about mathematics, without being solemn." Its best known editor was the mathematician Ian Stewart who edited the magazine in the late 1960s.A 1969 edition of the magazine...
. He also wrote a column called "Mathematical Recreations" for Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
magazine for several years.
Stewart has held visiting academic positions in Germany (1974), New Zealand (1976), and the U.S. (University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
1977–78, University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
1983–84).
In 1995 Stewart received the Michael Faraday Medal and in 1997 he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner....
. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001.
He has collaborated with Dr Jack Cohen
Jack Cohen (scientist)
Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
and Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
on three popular science
Popular science
Popular science, sometimes called literature of science, is interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is broad-ranging, often written by scientists as well as journalists, and is presented in many...
books based on Pratchett's Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
. In 1999 Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
made both Jack Cohen
Jack Cohen (scientist)
Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
and Professor Ian Stewart "Honorary Wizards of the Unseen University" at the same ceremony at which the University of Warwick gave Terry Pratchett an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
.
Stewart has published more than 140 scientific papers
Academic publishing
Academic publishing describes the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in journal article, book or thesis form. The part of academic written output that is not formally published but merely printed up or posted is often called...
, including a series of influential papers co-authored with Jim Collins
James Collins (Boston University)
James J. Collins is an American bioengineer, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator...
on coupled oscillators and the symmetry of animal gaits.
Stewart was married to his wife, Avril, in 1970. They met at a party at a house Avril was renting while she trained as a nurse. They have two sons. He lists his recreations as science fiction, painting, guitar, keeping fish, geology, Egyptology and snorkeling.
Mathematics and popular science
- Another Fine Math You've Got Me Into
- Concepts of Modern MathematicsConcepts of Modern MathematicsConcepts of Modern Mathematics is a 1975 book by mathematician and science popularizer Ian Stewart about recent developments in mathematics....
- Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of ChaosDoes God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of ChaosDoes God Play Dice: The New Mathematics of Chaos is a book about chaos theory written by mathematician Ian Stewart.In this book Stewart explains chaos theory to an audience presumably unfamiliar with it. As the book progresses the writing changes from simple explanations of chaos theory to...
- Game, Set and Math
- Fearful Symmetry
- Figments of RealityFigments of RealityFigments of Reality: The Evolution of the Curious Mind is a book about the evolution of the intelligent and conscious human mind by biologist Jack Cohen and mathematician Ian Stewart....
, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:... - FlatterlandFlatterlandFlatterland is a 2001 book by mathematician and science popularizer Ian Stewart about non-Euclidean geometry. It was written as a sequel to Flatland, an 1884 novel that discussed different dimensions.-Plot summary:Almost 100 years after A...
, ISBN 0-7382-0442-0, Perseus Books Group, April 2001. (See FlatlandFlatlandFlatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott. Writing pseudonymously as "A Square", Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture...
) - From Here to InfinityFrom Here to Infinity (book)From Here to Infinity: A Guide to Today's Mathematics, a 1996 book by mathematician and science popularizer Ian Stewart, is a guide to modern mathematics for the general reader. It aims to answer questions such as "What is mathematics?", "What is it for " and "What are mathematicians doing nowadays?"...
, first published as The Problems of Mathematics - Life's Other Secret
- Math Hysteria, ISBN 0-19-861336-9, Oxford University Press, June 2004
- Nature's Numbers
- The Collapse of ChaosThe Collapse of ChaosThe Collapse of Chaos: discovering simplicity in a complex world is a book about chaos theory written by biologist Jack Cohen and mathematician Ian Stewart....
, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:... - The Magical Maze (1998) ISBN 0-471-35065-6
- The Problems of Mathematics
- What is Mathematics?What is Mathematics?What Is Mathematics? is a mathematics book written by Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins, published in England by Oxford University Press. It is an introduction to mathematics, intended both for the mathematics student and for the general public....
– originally by Richard CourantRichard CourantRichard Courant was a German American mathematician.- Life :Courant was born in Lublinitz in the German Empire's Prussian Province of Silesia. During his youth, his parents had to move quite often, to Glatz, Breslau, and in 1905 to Berlin. He stayed in Breslau and entered the university there...
and Herbert RobbinsHerbert RobbinsHerbert Ellis Robbins was an American mathematician and statistician who did research in topology, measure theory, statistics, and a variety of other fields. He was the co-author, with Richard Courant, of What is Mathematics?, a popularization that is still in print. The Robbins lemma, used in...
, second edition revised by Ian Stewart - Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
. Second edition published as What Does a Martian Look Like? The Science of Extraterrestrial Life - Letters to a Young MathematicianLetters to a Young MathematicianLetters to a Young Mathematician is a 2006 book by Ian Stewart, and is part of Basic Books' Art of Mentoring series. Stewart mentions in the preface that he considers this book an update to G.H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology....
, ISBN 0-465-08231-9, Basic Books, May 2006 - How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums (2006) ISBN 978-0199205905
- Why Beauty Is Truth: A History of SymmetryWhy Beauty Is Truth: A History of SymmetryWhy Beauty Is Truth: A History of Symmetry is a 2007 book by Ian Stewart.Following the life and work of famous mathematicians from antiquity to the present, Stewart traces Mathematics' developing handling of the concept of Symmetry...
(2007) ISBN 0-46508-236-X - Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities (2008) ISBN 1-84668-064-6
- Professor Stewart's Hoard of Mathematical Treasures (2009) ISBN 978 1 84668 292 6
- Cows in the Maze: And Other Mathematical Explorations (2010) ISBN 978-0199562077
- Taming the infinite: The story of Mathematics from the first numbers to chaos theory (2008) ISBN 978-1847247881
- The Mathematics of Life (2011) ISBN 978-0465022380
Science of Discworld series
- The Science of DiscworldThe Science of DiscworldThe Science of Discworld is a 1999 book by novelist Terry Pratchett and popular science writers Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. Two sequels, The Science of Discworld II: The Globe and The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch, have been written by the same authors.The book alternates between a...
, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
and Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels... - The Science of Discworld II: The GlobeThe Science of Discworld II: The GlobeThe Science of Discworld II: The Globe is a 2002 book written by the novelist Terry Pratchett and the popular science writers Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen...
, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
and Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels... - The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's WatchThe Science of Discworld III: Darwin's WatchThe Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch is a book set on the Discworld, by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. It is the sequel to The Science of Discworld and The Science of Discworld II: The Globe....
, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
and Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
Textbooks
- Catastrophe Theory and its Applications, with Tim Poston, Pitman, 1978. ISBN 0-27301029-8.
- Algebraic number theory and Fermat's last theorem, 3rd Edition, I. Stewart, D Tall. A. K. Peters (2002) ISBN 1-56881-119-5
- Galois Theory, 3rd Edition, Chapman and Hall (2000) ISBN 1-58488-393-6 Galois Theory Errata
Science fiction
- WheelersWheelers (novel)Wheelers is a science fiction novel authored by English mathematician Ian Stewart and reproductive biologist Jack Cohen, figures notable for both their personal scholarly work and numerous individual and collaborative contributions to the world of science fiction...
, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
(fiction) - HeavenHeaven (novel)Heaven is a science fiction novel written by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. It was first published in 2004....
, with Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
, ISBN 0-446-52983-4, Aspect, May 2004 (fiction)
Select quotations
- From What Does a Martian Look Like? The Science of Extraterrestrial Life:
-
- "Science is the best defense against believing what we want to."
- From Catastrophe Theory and Its Applications:
-
- "We may predict that ... as methods relevant to organized complexity develop in laboratory science, the social sciences will benefit in proportion. The new concepts — fusing with, changing, and adding to present understanding — may allow the definition and measurement of quantities more central to the health of the body politick than a 'standard of living' that includes useless packaging discarded, or a 'gross national product' that includes machines whose productivity is measured in megadeaths. ... If any mathematical methods can aid in the growth of such wisdom, then catastrophe theory will be part of them."
- From Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of ChaosDoes God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of ChaosDoes God Play Dice: The New Mathematics of Chaos is a book about chaos theory written by mathematician Ian Stewart.In this book Stewart explains chaos theory to an audience presumably unfamiliar with it. As the book progresses the writing changes from simple explanations of chaos theory to...
on the concept of fungibilityFungibilityFungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are capable of mutual substitution, such as crude oil, wheat, precious metals or currencies...
and how it applies to science:
-
- "Lawyers have a concept known as 'fungibility'. Things are fungible if substituting one for another has no legal implications. For example, cans of baked beans with the same manufacturer and the same nominal weight are fungible: you have no legal complaint if the shop substitutes a different can when the assistant notices that the one you've just bought is dented. The fact that the new can contains 1,346 beans, whereas the old one contained 1,347, is legally irrelevant.
-
- That's what `take as given' means, too. Explanations that climb the reductionist hierarchy are cascades of fungibilities. Such explanations are comprehensible, and thus convincing, only because each stage in the story relies only upon particular simple features of the previous stage. The complicated details a level or two down do not need to be carried upwards indefinitely. Such features are intellectual resting-points in the chain of logic. Examples include the observation that atoms can be assembled into many complex structures, making molecules possible, and the complicated but elegant geometry of the DNADNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
double helix that permits the `encoding' of complex `instructions' for making organisms. The story can then continue with the computational abilities of DNA coding, onward and upward to goats, without getting enmeshed in the quantum wave functions of amino acids.
- That's what `take as given' means, too. Explanations that climb the reductionist hierarchy are cascades of fungibilities. Such explanations are comprehensible, and thus convincing, only because each stage in the story relies only upon particular simple features of the previous stage. The complicated details a level or two down do not need to be carried upwards indefinitely. Such features are intellectual resting-points in the chain of logic. Examples include the observation that atoms can be assembled into many complex structures, making molecules possible, and the complicated but elegant geometry of the DNA
-
- What we tend to forget, when told a story with this structure, is that it could have had many different beginnings. Anything that lets us start from the molecular level would have done just as well. A totally different subatomic theory would be an equally valid starting-point for the story, provided it led to the same general feature of a replicable molecule. Subatomic particle theory is fungible when viewed from the level of goats. It has to be, or else we would never be able to keep a goat without first doing a Ph.D. in subatomic physics."
External links
- Professor Ian Stewart, FRS
- Michael Faraday prize winners 2004–1986
- Directory of Fellows of the Royal Society: Ian Stewart
- Prof Ian Stewart at Debrett's People of Today
- What does a Martian look like? Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart set out to find the answers
- Ian Stewart on space exploration by NASA
- Ian Stewart on Minesweeper one of the Millennium mathematics problems
- Press release about Terry Pratchett "Wizard Making" of Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart at the University of Warwick
- Interview with Ian Stewart on the Science of Discworld series
- Audio Interview with Ian Stewart on April 25, 2007 from WINA's Charlottesville Right Now
- Podcast series with Ian Stewart on the history of symmetry
- A Partly True Story in: Scientific American, Feb 1993