Search results for ""author cedric villani""

“This man could plainly do for mathematics what Brian Cox has done for physics” — Sunday TimesHow does a genius see the world? Where and how does inspiration strike?Cédric Villani takes us on a mesmerising adventure as he wrestles with the Boltzmann equation – a new theorem that will eventually win him the most coveted prize in mathematics and a place in the mathematical history books. Along the way he encounters obstacles and setbacks, losses of faith and even brushes with madness.His story is one of courage and partnership, doubt and anxiety, elation and despair. Of ordinary family life blurring with the abstract world of mathematical physics, of theories and equations that haunt your dreams and seeking the elusive inspiration found only in a locked, darkened room.Blending science with history, biography with myth, Villani conjures up an inimitable cast: the omnipresent Einstein, mad genius Kurt Godel, and Villani’s personal hero, John Nash.Step inside the magical world of Cédric Villani…

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At the close of the 1980s, the independent contributions of Yann Brenier, Mike Cullen and John Mather launched a revolution in the venerable field of optimal transport founded by G. Monge in the 18th century, which has made breathtaking forays into various other domains of mathematics ever since. The author presents a broad overview of this area, supplying complete and self-contained proofs of all the fundamental results of the theory of optimal transport at the appropriate level of generality. Thus, the book encompasses the broad spectrum ranging from basic theory to the most recent research results. PhD students or researchers can read the entire book without any prior knowledge of the field. A comprehensive bibliography with notes that extensively discuss the existing literature underlines the book’s value as a most welcome reference text on this subject.

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In the words of the great poet Senghor, Cedric Villani makes the bold claim that Mathematics is the Poetry of Science. Perhaps paradoxical to some, both disciplines are concerned with describing the world around us, understanding its parts, and using this knowledge to create something profound. World-renowned mathematician and Fields Medallist Cedric Villani explores this analogy in this engaging and intelligent text, and shows how mathematics, one of the world's few universal languages, holds deep similarities to the literary genre. A great lover of poetry, he insists that the two are intrinsically linked in their aim of both tackling the complexities of our reality as well as distancing us from it so that we may better appreciate its beauty. In a more light-hearted and concise approach than his more theoretical academic works, this book represents one of Villani's attempts to communicate his love of mathematics to a wider audience, drawing daring parallels between two universes that meet in their aspiration of the sublime.

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