"Every family has its black sheep--in ours it was Uncle Petros": the narrator of Apostles Doxiadis's novel
Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture is the mystified nephew of the family's black sheep, unable to understand the reasons for his uncle's fall from grace. A kindly, gentle recluse devoted only to gardening and chess, Petros Papachristos exhibits no signs of dissolution or indolence: so why do his family hold him in such low esteem? One day, his father reveals all:
Your uncle, my son, committed the greatest of sins ... he took something holy and sacred and great, and shamelessly defiled it! The great, unique gift that God had blessed him with, his phenomenal, unprecedented mathematical talent! The miserable fool wasted it; he squandered it and threw it out with the garbage. Can you imagine it? The ungrateful bastard never did one day's useful work in mathematics. Never! Nothing! Zero!
Instead of being warned off, the nephew instead has his curiosity provoked, and what he eventually discovers is a story of obsession and frustration, of Uncle Petros's attempts at finding a proof for one of the great unsolved problems of mathematics--Goldbach's conjecture.
If this might initially seem undramatic material for a novel, readers of Fermat's Last Theorem, Simon Singh's gripping true-life account of Andrew Wiles's search for a proof for another of the great long-standing problems of mathematics, would surely disagree. What Doxiadis gives us is the fictional corollary of Singh's book: a beautifully imagined narrative that is both compelling as a story and highly revealing of a rarefied world of the intellect that few people will ever access. Without ever alienating the reader, he demonstrates the enchantments of mathematics as well as the ambition, envy and search for glory that permeate even this most abstract of pursuits. Balancing the narrator's own awkward move into adulthood with the painful memories of his brilliant uncle, Doxiadis shows how seductive the world of numbers can be, and how cruel a mistress. "Mathematicians are born, not made," Petros declares: an inheritance that proves to be both a curse and a gift.--Burhan Tufail
Greek tragedy in less then 200 pages about theoretical maths, 22 Feb 2008
Uncle Petros and Golbach's Conjecture was originally a best selling Greek novel and has now been published over 20 languages so don't get switched off by the title and subject matter. Forget about it being about maths and in fact think of Moby Dick to place this book. It's about obsession and pride in chasing the impossible dream. You understand the thrill and terror of chasing impossible dreams.
Right now let's get the maths out of the way. Golbach's Conjecture first stated in the 18th century suggests that:
Every even integer greater than 2 can be written as the sum of two primes.
But mathematicians lack proof that in all circumstance it would hold. For example think about Physics where if dealing with the very big or the very small ordinary scientific understanding ceases to work. So could this be the case in Mathematics? Yes over my head as well! But the author is a childhood mathematical genius who submitted original research at 15 before even starting his degree and also an acclaimed film maker and writer. So he both understands the mathematical issues and can write so that we understand and care.
We first meet Uncle Petros in the 1970's through the eyes of the beloved favourite nephew as a teenager. Petros is dismissed as the family failure that supports him through the family business while he does nothing but read books and plays chess. He leaves his home only once a month to do the books of a charity founded by his father. The beloved favourite nephew is met by a wall of adult silence when he tried to find out what the anger of the family is about. A chance phone call and a subsequent letter lead him to discover that far from a failure Uncle Petros had been a professor of mathematics in the 20's and 30's at a prestigious German University. This makes him as obsessive as his Uncle as he struggles to discover the Truth of the family scandal.
He tries to become a mathematician to help him challenge and understand what had obsessed his Uncle. This causes huge family problems- this is a Greek family remember where honouring your family and Father is a top rule in life. He finally manages to get the story of his Uncles obsessive hunt out in the open but at a high personal cost to his own ambitions. It is clear that Uncle Petros is a genius who will never be known as his hopes are dashed in the 30's by the publication of Kurt Godel's Theorem. Yes more maths but not much so don't leave. This solves the problem of completeness by showing that any theory of numbers will contain unprovable propositions. Alan During (him of how do we know a computer has human intelligence- asked before computers were developed- now that's what being clever is about) then demonstrates that theorists have no idea which proposition is merely hard to prove and which are impossible to prove.
Hence, Uncle Petros has no way of knowing if spending all his life in trying solve the Golbach's Conjecture is a possible but hard task or impossible task. He gives up, his dreams and hopes ended. The beloved nephew is finding the truth is released from his obsession and so escapes the fate of his Uncle but then realises that a psychological lie has taken place which he needs to lance but this has tragic consequences.
Uncle Petros and Golbach's Conjecture is highly recommended Greek tragedy in less then 200 pages about theoretical maths and why love and life is about how you answer the Bette Davis Theorem:
Oh, don't let's ask for the moon. We've already got the stars.
the most enjoyable mathematics, 04 Dec 2006
this book is, simply put, a great read ... although it is firmly grounded on mathematics, and introduces this world to the reader, it is by no means a book you have to be scared of not understanding -- or, if you hated maths at school, be worried about not enjoying! In essence, it is a story about a mathematician (Uncle Petros) and his nephew ... but mainly about their passion for maths and a conjecture which can not be proved. The characters are vivid, almost real. The story keeps its pace throughout the book. One could read a lot more into the meaning of the story (futility of life, the old advising the young) or just enjoy it as as good story. This is the only book I have read which made me wish I had studied maths! REALLY!
Amazing - and I'm NOT overrating it !, 07 Nov 2005
(I read the English version and will strive to find the Greek version as soon as possible)
I just finished the book. I read the entire book in one sitting. It is without doubt the finest book I have ever read. I will not ramble on with the details of the plot, all I have to say is just "Buy it!". While browsing customer reviews you always see books said to be "Amazing","Fabulous" and similar adjectives but once you buy it you just think "Good". This is not the case. This is a totally honest review (I don't know if it is objective though; I liked to book far too much to be objective) and the book is, as far as I am allowed to judge a book, fantastic.
I am not a mathematician but have read similar books, like "Fermat's Last Theorem", most of which I found rather fascinating, but this book is better than all of them. If you have an interest in mathematics and/or remotely liked the aforementioned (or similar) title, you absolutely *must* buy this book.
I can't really say how I would have reacted to this book if I hated Mathematics. It is by no means a technical book in the sense that if you *hate* mathematics, you won't have to put up with it. I guess that you will definitely find the book "very good", but I cannot really guarantee that it will become your favourite book - maybe, I simply don't know.
Living Under The Same Roof, 30 Jun 2005
When I was young, I picked a random book of my dad's library books and just began reading it. At this point I remember I didnt look at the title of the book, however I remember that at the age of ten, I was then, I was fascinated!I didn't complete my homework with the expected care, since i wanted to read abit more.
I had left this book unfinished but now, two days ago, I remembered that I used to have a favourite book, even thought I couldnt remember it's title.
I then began reading Uncle Petros and realised that I had read it before.
It was then when I realised I had read my dad's book before.I feel so proud for him, everyone know I'm a fair judge but knowing that what my dad has written made me read about mathematical theorems when i really hated maths makes me want to congratulate him!Bravo Daddy mou!
Definitely one of the nicest books I have ever read..., 14 Jun 2005
This book is profound, hilarious and bright. It's great for everyone but for those of you with a particular interest by Mathematics is even more than great. Don't think! BUY IT!
