Symmetry: A True Ufo Adventure

Symmetry is all around us. Of fundamental significance to the way we interpret the world, this unique, pervasive phenomenon indicates a dynamic relationship between objects. Combining a rich historical narrative with his own personal journey as a mathematician, Marcus du Sautoy takes a unique look into the mathematical mind as he explores deep conjectures about symmetry and brings us face-to-face with the oddball mathematicians, both past and present, who have battled to understand symmetry's elusive qualities.

This textbook is perfect for a math course for non-math majors, with the goal of encouraging effective analytical thinking and exposing students to elegant mathematical ideas. It includes many topics commonly found in sampler courses, like Platonic solids, Euler’s formula, irrational numbers, countable sets, permutations, and a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.

A development of the basic theory and applications of mechanics with an emphasis on the role of symmetry. The book includes numerous specific applications, making it beneficial to physicists and engineers. Specific examples and applications show how the theory works, backed by up-to-date techniques, all of which make the text accessible to a wide variety of readers, especially senior undergraduates and graduates in mathematics, physics and engineering.