Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature

Du Sautoy takes us us to a trip where the world of symmetry appears in Persian carpets, churchbells, Bach Golberg Variations, DNA sequences, RNA viruses invasions, and secret codes.When Phil Anderson, a Nobel laureate, said that physics is basically the study of symmetry, he was actually modest. Symmetry is not only out there in nature, but in our brain too. Mirror neurons in the brain, allow us to empathize, to understand other people feelings by becoming "symmetric" with them.This is not a book about the mathematics of symmetry, but more about the symmetry in mathematics, mind, arts and nature.For doing this in an engaging way, Marcus du Sautoy deserves to be widely read.

This is a fascinating exploration of the mathematic of symmetry as well as the history of the people coming up with the math. The author’s stories are fascinating and it also helps me appreciate how integral math is to our lives. What I liked about this book is that I came away with a better understanding of a mathematicians journey to solve a problem. It a year long journey that’s quite intriguing.

Great book! I first read Marcus's book The Music Of The Primes which showed me the mathematics behind symmetry.I suggest reading Music before reading Symmetry. It will make more sense to you. I have all of Marcus's books and love them!!!!!

excellent book for people interested in math.

I love books about Mathematics, and I loved du Sautoy's The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics (P.S.), so I thought this would be a great book. However, it is a mix of personal thoughts on the subject and lessons about the history of the quest for symmetry, and because of that it can get a little hard to follow the book (I am often asking myself "what is the author's point?"). That said, it is not an excellent book, but it is indeed very interesting.

New perspective on solvability of polynomials.

Explains the mathematical notion of symmetry and the crazy cast of men who work in this area. Mixed in with the author's own story. Highly entertaining at times. Always educational.

I haven't had a book wake me in the middle of the night and demand I read more since high school.

A very good book by a young Mathematician of our Era. Many abstract and difficult concept of symmetry is narrated in a very lucid language. Better than the book of same title published by Cambridge University Press.

Arrived in good time and good condition. I have just finished reading it and it is a a worthwhile read.

I love this book because it focuses on simmetry groups giving examples of the Alhambra and other great places around the world.This is not an "in-depth" book about simmetry, it is more an informative book, easy to read and very entertaining.

El libro está bien, por eso le doy tres estrellas, el autor cuenta anécdotas curiosas, resulta entretenido pero su contenido matemático es bastante flojito.

I am interested in group theory, and bought this book under the impression that it discussed simple group theory in a way that an amateur like me would be able to understand.I am sure this author could have written such a book, but this isn't it. It has been dumbed down far too much (I suspect at the insistence of the publisher). He avoids simple group theory terminology, so instead of writing about "how many groups there are with 27 elements", he has "how many objects there are with 27 symmetries", which isn't going to help anyone, and is going to confuse those who understand just a little of his subject matter. Yet he mentions zeta functions several times, though without any clue as to what they are.In chapter three he states, repeatedly, that the Alhambra palace contains examples of all 17 symmetries (he means wallpaper groups); and there are pictures of some of them. I wonder why he chose not to have a page or two illustrating all 17? This would have been interesting, or at least fun to look at, for all readers, however dumb the publisher takes them to be.The best feature of the book is not its abortive attempts to discuss mathematics, but its anecdotes about mathematicians. If these are what you want, the book is worth buying.