Symmetry

Great history

Mathematical treatise on symmetry. A tour of the notion of symmetry throughout the math, sciences and life in general. Include in depth mathematical ideas of symmetry while catering to the lay audience. Self sufficient but for the curious more math is helpful.

This is a tough read for an amateur, but still worth the effort. Fractal Geometry is cutting edge stuff that exposes the connections between nature and math. Well written.

Very well written introductory book to symmetry-group theory notions concise and thought provoking lacking some modern notions and strong mathematical deductions Can be read from high scool students an easy pace book ideal for a first contact with the subject

The book is very boring.

The classical book written by Weyl!

Arrived promptly, was as described.

Hermann Weyl was a mathematical giant of the twentieth century, and nowhere was his influence more profoundly felt than in his work on the applications of group theory to the physical sciences. This book, compiled from a lecture series Professor Weyl gave just prior to his retirement from the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, provides a nice introduction to these ideas, but also waxes philosophical at times which makes it an interesting read even for the knowledgeable student. This book is filled with greyscale pictures which provide examples of precise types of symmetry in both art and nature. In many ways, it is these pictures which make the book so suitable for beginners in the discipline of symmetry. Group theory is the mathematical language of symmetry, and the first chapter of this book discusses bilateral symmetry in depth. This is the simplest and more familiar of all symmetry types as it is present in our own bodies. Professor Weyl also spends a good amount of time discussing the inherent bilateral symmetry of the universe and the laws of physics. This is an inadvertent source of entertainment as a few years later it was discovered that contrary to all the evidence and philosophical inclinations in this direction , it is actually not so. Weak nuclear interactions lack bilateral symmetry. Oddly, this makes the universe even more like our own bodies which also appear to have bilateral symmetry until you really get inside of them. The second chapter covers translational and rotational symmetries and provides many examples both from art and nature. The third chapter discusses ornamental symmetries which are essentially two dimensional lattice symmetries. The final chapter introduces crystals and the mathematics of symmetries in general. There are also a couple of appendices which provide some additional mathematical details on a couple of points. This book is widely considered to be a classic, and as I said is chock full of pictures illustrating various types of symmetries in nature, art, and even in mathematics itself. I'd recommend this book to just about anyone with a smidgeon of curiosity. Many of the ideas on the mathematical side lack any appreciable development, and so this book reads a bit like a sightseeing tour, which I'm sure is exactly what Professor Weyl intended. Widely referenced. Excellent reading. Highly recommended.

The profound landmark book on symmetry takes the reader on an exciting and fascinating journey through the world of symmetry to convey how essential this simple, beautiful principle is in all areas of reality. EXCELLENT, GREAT READ!

Uso numa pesquisa sobre transformações geométricas

Un testo irrinunciabile per la comprensione del concetto di Simmetria

Excellent

I bought this little booklet, all 168 pages of it, to see what one of the most well known physicists of the 20th Century had to say about symmetry. There are two reasons I did this: 1) to get an idea of the kind of non-academic writing of famous scientists and 2) to see if Weyl had an idea about symmetry which did something new, something surprising. It's a very compact little book, very dense in trying to talk about the, now very large, field of symmetry within the sciences (mostly physics). He starts basic enough from ideas of bilateral symmetry and shows some wonderful images of such reflection and rotational symmetries as typified by Arabic, Chinese and architectural designs. He introduces translational symmetries and glide reflections. He also gives examples from nature such as the nautilus, honeycombs and radiolarians. Some mathematics is introduced through the concept of symmetry groups. This mathematics is introduced quickly and no time is really given over to truly understand what is happening here although it is introduced in a relatively simple way. Not enough is done to make people understand what is happening here with simple diagrams which would have helped make this much easier. In some cases the diagrams used do not help. He also discusses crystal symmetries and a little about Galois theory which is introduced in a helpful way, much more easily understood than the way I was taught. Now, how does this book fare when it comes to the above two reasons? Firstly, there is not much that is new or really interesting except a couple of snippets that appear and are full of meaning but not expanded upon: (a) the interaction between space and time symmetries and (b) the concept of similarity as defined by Leibniz. It is a decent read however and I enjoyed the wealth of examples. Weyl does a good job if introducing these ideas for the layman.