Terence Tao at the Harvard Science Center

RSVP is required for this event.

Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome Terence Tao—Australian American professor of mathematics at UCLA, one of the most decorated and prolific mathematicians working today, and the acclaimed author of several academic books, including Solving Mathematical Problems and Additive Combinatorics—for a discussion of his new book, Six Math Essentials. The presentation will take place in Hall D of the Harvard Science Center, located at 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge.

RSVP for free to this event or choose the "Book-Included" ticket to reserve a copy of Six Math Essentials and pick it up at the event. Following the presentation will be a book signing.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

The “Mozart of mathematics” invites readers on a brief tour of six core ideas—numbers, algebra, geometry, probability, analysis, and dynamics—that capture the beauty and power of mathematical thinking for everyone.

In Six Math Essentials, the renowned mathematician and Fields Medalist Terence Tao introduces readers to six central concepts that have guided mathematicians from antiquity to the frontiers of what we know today and now help us make sense of our complex world. This slim, elegant volume explores numbers as the gateway to quantitative thinking; algebra as the gateway to abstraction; geometry as a way to calculate beyond what we can see; probability as a tool to navigate uncertainty with rigorous thinking; analysis as a means to tame the very large or the very small; and dynamics as the mathematics of change. Six Math Essentials—Tao’s first popular math book—provides a glimpse into the workings of Tao’s incomparable mind and how he thinks about the creativity and interconnectedness of the mathematical enterprise. Contrary to popular perception, math, he insists, isn’t magic—it's a powerful way of thinking that anyone can learn.

Terence Tao is an Australian American professor of mathematics at UCLA whose work focuses primarily on harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorics, and analytic number theory. The recipient of a Fields Medal, a MacArthur Genius Grant, and a Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, among many other accolades, he is one of the most decorated and prolific mathematicians working today. Tao is the author of several academic books, including Solving Mathematical Problems: A Personal Perspective and Additive Combinatorics. He lives in Los Angeles. Photo Credit: Penny Jennings, UCLA

The Harvard Science Book Talks series is a collaboration between the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and Harvard Book Store. The series features talks by the authors of recently published books on a variety of science-related topics and is open to both the Harvard community and to the general public. Learn more and watch recordings of past talks here.