CONTENTS
Preface xi
1. Symmetry 1
2. eyE s'dniM eht ni yrtemmyS 29
3. Never Forget This in the Midst of
Your Equations 51
4. The Poverty-Stricken Mathematician 90
5. The Romantic Mathematician 112
6. Groups 158
7. Symmetry Rules 198
8. Who's the Most Symmetrical of
Them All? 233
9. Requiem for a Romantic Genius 262
Appendix 1. Card Puzzle 277
Appendix 2. Solving a System of Two Linear Equations 278
Appendix 3. Diopbantus's Solution 280
Appendix 4. A Diophantine Equation 281
Appendix 5. Tartaglia's Verses and Formula 282
Appendix 6. Adriaan van Roomens Challenge 285
Appendix 7. Properties of the Roots of Quadratic Equations 286
Appendix 8. The Galois Family Tree 288
Appendix 9 . The 14-15 Puzzle 291
Appendix 10. Solution to the Matches Problem 292
Notes 293
References 309
Index 337