| In Code - A Mathematical Journey (2001) |
| Front Cover | Book Details | ||||||||||||||
|
|
| Plot |
| From the Publisher In January 1999, Sarah Flannery, a sports-loving teenager from Blarney in County Cork, Ireland, was awarded Ireland's Young Scientist of the Year for her extraordinary research and discoveries in Internet cryptography. The following day, her story began appearing in Irish papers and soon after was splashed across the front page of the London Times, complete with a photo of Sarah and a caption calling her "brilliant." Just sixteen, she was a mathematician with an international reputation. In Code is a heartwarming story that will have readers cheering Sarah on. Originally published in England and cowritten with her mathematician father, David Flannery, In Code is "a wonderfully moving story about the thrill of the mathematical chase" (Nature) and "a paean to intellectual adventure" (Times Educational Supplement). A memoir in mathematics, it is all about how a girl next door, nurtured by her family, moved from the simple math puzzles that were the staple of dinnertime conversation to prime numbers, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, Fermat's Little Theorem, googols--and finally into her breathtaking algorithm. Parallel with each step is a modest girl's own self-discovery--her values, her burning curiosity, the joy of persistence, and, above all, her love for her family. From the Inside Flap From puzzles on the blackboard in an Irish country kitchen to her acclaimed Cayley-Purser algorithm, Sarah Flannery has made an extraordinary beginning as a mathematician. Her research and discoveries in Internet cryptography won her both Ireland's Young Scientist of the Year and European Young Scientist of the Year awards. Her story was splashed across the front page of the London Times - and suddenly this teenager from Country Cork had an international reputation. How did Sarah, an above average student who loves "maths" but adamantly refuses epithets like brilliant or genius, astound the world with an algorithm? In Code, cowritten with Sarah's father and teacher, David Flannery, is a surprising and heartwarming story that will have readers cheering Sarah on. A memoir with mathematics, In Code tells how the girl next door moved from the simple math puzzles that were the staple of dinnertime conversation to number theory, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, and Femat's Little Theorem Finally culminating in a passion for public key cryptography, and the creative breakthroughs that led to her own discoveries. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From the Back Cover "A TERRIFIC ADVENTURE IN CRYPTOGRAHY." (Simon Singh, author of Fermat's Enigma and The Code Book" "A veritable mathematical travelogue. What every aspiring young scientist and mathematician needs: love, humor, inspiration and...a copy of this book." (Richard Mankiewicz, author of The Story of Mathematics) "Whether you're a math fan or have always shied away from it, you'll be hooked on Sarah Flannery's story from the very first page. The amazing life of this young woman and her incredible mathematical journey, told here by herself and her father-tutor, are sure to captivate you like few other human stories!" (Eli Maor, author of To Infinity and Beyond and e: The Story of a Number" "A wonderfully moving story about the thrill of the mathematical chase. Sarah's story should serve as an inspiration [not only] for all young people contemplating a life in mathematics...but for anyone interested in the human spirit and its boundless capacity for innovation and imagination." (John L. Casti, Nature) "A paean to intellectual adventure." (Times Educational Supplement) "An engaging, almost playful, book in which the reader is encouraged to spend lots of time working out mathematical puzzles [that] are interwoven with a narrative of Sarah's annus mirabilis. What's striking about this account is its level-headed, self-deprecating, eminently sane tone. This is a girl whose head hasn't turned by fame. And that, in a way, is her greatest achievement." (John Naughton, author of A Brief History of the Future.) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Annotation A memoir in mathematics, it is all about how a girl next door, nurtured by her family, moved from the simple math puzzles that were the staple of dinnertime conversation to prime numbers, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, Fermat's Little Theorem, Googols- and finally into her breathtaking algorithm. Synopsis From puzzles on the blackboard in an Irish country kitchen to her acclaimed Cayley-Purser algorithm, Sarah Flannery has made an extraordinary beginning as a mathematician. Her research and discoveries in Internet cryptography won her both Ireland's Young Scientist of the Year and European Young Scientist of the Year awards. Her story was splashed across the front page of the London Times - and suddenly this teenager from Country Cork had an international reputation. How did Sarah, an above average student who loves "maths" but adamantly refuses epithets like brilliant or genius, astound the world with an algorithm? In Code, cowritten with Sarah's father and teacher, David Flannery, is a surprising and heartwarming story that will have readers cheering Sarah on. A memoir with mathematics, In Code tells how the girl next door moved from the simple math puzzles that were the staple of dinnertime conversation to number theory, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, and Femat's Little Theorem Finally culminating in a passion for public key cryptography, and the creative breakthroughs that led to her own discoveries. From The Critics John L. Casti - Nature ...a book about the thrill of the mathematical chase, and how it is a game that anyone can play. John Daly - Irish Independent [In Code] removes much of the fear about that world of numbers that assault most of us who grapple with it. John Crowley - Irish Post In Code is also much more than a mathematical treatise, it's also a lesson in the human condition. Victoria Neumark - Times (London) Sarah's achievements are an inspiring reminder of the nurturing power of education. Patricia Deevy - Dublin Sunday Independent ...a tale of an intellectual quest shared by a parent and a child ... a roadmap for living. Read all 9 "From The Critics" Author Description Sarah Flannery is now a student at Cambridge University. David Flannery, Sarah's father, lectures on mathematics at Ireland's Cork Institute of Technology. From Publishers Weekly At 16, Flannery made worldwide headlines as Ireland's 1999 Young Scientist of the Year for her discovery and presentation of the Cayley-Purser algorithm, an innovative encryption system roughly 22 times faster than the worldwide standard RSA algorithm. She declines the "genius" label, and a method for cracking her algorithm has since been discovered, but this only makes the book more interesting and unpredictable. It's more about the journey's adventure than the destination and less about Sarah's specialness than her spirit. The mix is part memoir, part puzzle book and part mathematical exploration, with scattered bits of mathematical lore. (The heaviest math is concentrated into two chapters and the appendices, leaving the remainder easy going for the fainthearted.) The puzzle-solving approach to math cultivated by her father (and coauthor) encourages exploration, an adventurous attitude, attention to concepts more than calculations and sheer enjoyment of taking on a challenge. It's also more egalitarian than proof-based approaches, giving newcomers a more equal footing with old pros, emphasizing the process of discovery and making connections, which is more fundamental than finished proofs. All this is wonderfully illustrated by Flannery's own story of her rapidly developing interest and proficiency in cryptography, as well as by the puzzles she uses to get readers thinking and introduce some basic concepts. Other threads, running from brief descriptions of her grandparents to her father's teaching methods and her relationship to family in the face of a media frenzy, give her story added depth, warmth and humor. 8 pages of b&w photos. (June)Forecast: Workman is hoping to, and should, attract budding young mathematicians with a first printing of 35,000, a $65,000 marketing budget and an eight-city author tour. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From Library Journal "I have no doubt that I am not a genius," writes Sarah Flannery, the 16-year-old Irish girl who won first place in the 1999 European Union Contest for Young Scientists. Nonetheless, her project about public key cryptography, the method used to transmit secure data over the Internet, created a media sensation. Until a security hole was discovered, some believed that Sarah's encryption algorithm could be worth millions, and she became an instant celebrity. Though her mathematician father helped write this book, Sarah's own heartfelt enthusiasm is obvious. She is breathlessly excited to get a phone call from a mathematician whose papers she has read, frustrated by the difficult math in research journals, flattered by media attention, and genuinely intrigued by the mathematics of encryption, which she valiantly explains. A particularly touching moment comes when Sarah is overjoyed to see her dad because she finally has somebody who will talk with her about mathematics. The prize-winning contest paper is included as an appendix. Despite the advanced math discussed here, this will appeal to high school and college students because the author is a very young mathematician and does a commendable job of explaining how she got interested in such an intense science project. For public and college libraries. Amy Brunvand, Univ. of Utah Lib., Salt Lake City Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From Book News, Inc. Sarah Flannery, a student at Cambridge University, describes her passion for cryptography and how it led to her invention of an innovative algorithm for encoding data on the internet--an invention that caused her to be named European Young Scientist of the year and brought her awards in her native Ireland and in Europe. This book is written for a general audience. The co-author is her father, a mathematician affiliated with Ireland's Cork Institute of Technology.Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||