Overview
- Military traces in the history of mathematics and in present day mathematics
- Changes in the character of warfare under the influence of mathematical theory and mathematically supported technology
- Ethical and social aspects of the interaction between mathematics and the military
- Mathematics and international law, arms control and disarmament
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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About this book
Mathematics has for centuries been stimulated, financed and credited by military purposes. Some mathematical thoughts and mathematical technology have also been vital in war. During World War II mathematical work by the Anti-Hitler coalition was part of an aspiration to serve humanity and not help destroy it. At present, it is not an easy task to view the bellicose potentials of mathematics in a proper perspective.
The book presents historical evidence and recent changes in the interaction between mathematics and the military. It discusses the new mathematically enhanced development of military technology which seems to have changed the very character of modern warfare.
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Keywords
Table of contents (21 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Introduction
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Perspectives from Mathematics
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Front Matter
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Ethical Issues
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Front Matter
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Reviews
"The relationship between mathematics and war dates back to ancient times- recall the stories about Archimedes' war inventions, or the use of amthematics in the design of fortifications, sea navigation and ballistics. However, the dieas involved did not go far beyond elementary geometry and calculus. The book Mathematics and War focuses on the 20th century when the situation changed rapidly. The cooperation between mathematicians and engineers led to the discoevery of modern aerodynamics, cryptography, atomic bomb or digital computers. Of course we are refering to mathematics as a broader discipline encompassing mathematically supported technology (e.g. computer science), too. The volume consists of articles that have been presented at the International Meeting on Mathematics and War held in Sweden, 2002. Among the authors there are mathematicians, army officers as well as philosophers; each describes the relation of mathematics and war from a different perspective. The topics discussed can be roughly divided into three categories:
1. The role of mathematicians in war research.
2. The moral responsibility of scientists engaged in war.
3. Mathematical models of war.
Most of the material presented in related to the events of both world wars; however, it includes examples from Napoleonic wars as well as from more recent history such as the Vietnam war or the war in Yugoslavia. Readers might appreciate the article devoted to breaking the Enigma code which contains some notes on relations between Poland, France and Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation."
---MATHEMATICA BOHEMICA
Editors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Mathematics and War
Editors: Bernhelm Booß-Bavnbek, Jens Høyrup
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-8093-0
Publisher: Birkhäuser Basel
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eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive
Copyright Information: Springer Basel AG 2003
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-7643-1634-1Published: 25 September 2003
eBook ISBN: 978-3-0348-8093-0Published: 06 December 2012
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VIII, 420
Number of Illustrations: 79 b/w illustrations
Topics: History of Mathematical Sciences, Philosophy, general, Mathematics, general, Social Sciences, general