Amir Alexander

{{Infobox historian

| name = Amir Alexander

| native_name = עמיר אלכסנדר

| native_name_lang = he

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| birth_place = Rehovot, Israel

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| discipline = History of science

| workplaces = UCLA

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| alma_mater = Hebrew University of Jerusalem (B.S. 1988)
Stanford (M.A. 1990; Ph.D. 1996)

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Amir Alexander ({{Langx|he|עמיר אלכסנדר}}) is a historian, author, and academic who studies the interconnections between mathematics and its cultural and historical setting.

Early life and education

Born in Rehovot, Israel, he grew up in Jerusalem{{cite journal|last1=Shook|first1=Karen|title=The Author|journal=Times Higher Education|date=June 19, 2014|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/books/infinitesimal-how-a-dangerous-mathematical-theory-shaped-the-modern-world-by-amir-alexander/2013940.article}} where his father, Shlomo Alexander, was a professor of physics at UCLA and the Hebrew University and his mother, Esther Alexander, was an economist and social activist.[http://jfi.uchicago.edu/~tten/ShlomoAlexander/ShlomoAlexanderObituary.pdf Obituaries: Shlomo Alexander] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626125541/http://jfi.uchicago.edu/~tten/ShlomoAlexander/ShlomoAlexanderObituary.pdf |date=2015-06-26 }}

Physics Today, December, 1998: 73-74Shimshon Bichler. November 2005 [http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/199/2/20051101b_esther_alexander_web.html דיוקן לאסתר אלכסנדר ולתקופתה] [https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fbnarchives.yorku.ca%2F199%2F2%2F20051101b_esther_alexander_web.html&edit-text= English translation by Google Translate: Portrait Esther Alexander and Times]{{rp|xv}} He obtained a B.S. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1988 in mathematics and history, before moving to the United States, where he obtained an M.A. in history of science from Stanford University in 1990, and a Ph.D. in history of science from Stanford University in 1996.

Career

His first book, Geometrical Landscapes: The Voyages of Discovery and the Transformation of Mathematical Practice, was published in 2002.{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=Amir|title=Geometrical Landscapes: The Voyages of Discovery and the Transformation of Mathematical Practice|date=2002|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, California|isbn=9780804732604|pages=[https://archive.org/details/geometricallands0000alex/page/312 312]|url=https://archive.org/details/geometricallands0000alex/page/312}}Reuben Hersh for The American Scientist. May–June 2003 [http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/in-search-of-interior-riches Book Review: In Search of Interior Riches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035654/http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/in-search-of-interior-riches |date=2016-03-04 }} The book describes the 17th century English exploration of the Americas, the early exploration by English mathematicians of infinitesimals, and the relationship between the two, and argued that "If a strong relationship can be established between an historically specific nonmathematical tale and the narrative of a mathematical work that originated within its social sphere, then mathematics can indeed be said to be fundamentally shaped by its social and cultural setting."Kim Williams [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02984705 Book review: Geometrical landscapes: The voyages of discovery and the transformation of mathematical practice] The Mathematical Intelligencer Fall 2006, 28(4):58-60

His second book, Duel at Dawn: Heroes, Martyrs, and the Rise of Modern Mathematics, was published in 2010.{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=Amir|title=Duel at Dawn: Heroes, Martyrs, and the Rise of Modern Mathematics|date=2010|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=9780674046610|pages=[https://archive.org/details/duelatdawnheroes00alex_0/page/320 320]|url=https://archive.org/details/duelatdawnheroes00alex_0/page/320|url-access=registration}}Tony Mann for Times Higher Education. May 6, 2010 [https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/books/the-book-of-the-week-duel-at-dawn-heroes-martyrs-and-the-rise-of-modern-mathematics/411509.article Book of the Week: Duel at Dawn: Heroes, Martyrs, and the Rise of Modern Mathematics] The book begins describing the death of Evariste Galois in a duel in 1832 and makes the argument that the ideas and culture of the Romantic age influenced the way mathematicians saw themselves and the very mathematics that they created.

His third book, Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World was published in 2014.{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=Amir|title=Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World|date=2014|publisher=Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux|location=New York, NY|isbn=9780374176815|pages=368|url=http://us.macmillan.com/infinitesimalhowadangerousmathematicaltheoryshapedthemodernworld/amiralexander|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160915073249/http://us.macmillan.com/infinitesimalhowadangerousmathematicaltheoryshapedthemodernworld/amiralexander|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 15, 2016|access-date=June 18, 2015}}{{cite journal|last1=Paulos|first1=John Allen|title=The 16th Century's Line of Fire: 'Infinitesimal,' a Look at a 16th Century Math Battle|journal=The New York Times|date=April 7, 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/science/infinitesimal-looks-at-an-historic-math-battle.html?_r=0}}{{cite journal|last1=Arianrhod|first1=Robin|title=Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World, by Amir Alexander|journal=Times Higher Education|date=June 19, 2014|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/books/infinitesimal-how-a-dangerous-mathematical-theory-shaped-the-modern-world-by-amir-alexander/2013940.article}} The book returns to the topic of the history of the study of infinitesimals in the 17th century, and locates arguments about the validity of the mathematical concept in the struggles between Roman Catholics and Protestants in the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and the accompanying political struggles between authoritarian and more pluralistic approaches to governing. Infinitesimal was selected as one of the best science books of 2014 by Library Journal{{citation|work=Library Journal|url=http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2014/10/best-of/library-journals-best-books-of-2014/|title=Library Journal's Best Books of 2014|date=October 22, 2014|access-date=June 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626112012/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2014/10/best-of/library-journals-best-books-of-2014/|archive-date=June 26, 2015|url-status=dead}} and by Slate magazine.{{citation|work=Slate|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/best_books_2014_slate_staff_recommendations.html|title=Best books of 2014: Slate staff picks|date=November 2014}} His fourth book, Proof!: How the World Became Geometrical, was published in 2019.{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=Amir|title=Proof!: How the World Became Geometrical|date=2019|publisher=Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux|location=New York, NY|isbn=9780374254902|pages=320|url=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374254902}} His fifth book,

"Liberty's Grid" was published in 2024 by the University of Chicago Press.

He has contributed pieces to The New York Times's Science and Book Reviews sections,New York Times [https://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection®ion=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=sectionfront#/amir NYT articles by Amir Alexander] The Los Angeles Times Op-Ed section,{{cite journal|last1=Alexander|first1=Amir|title=Think the climate change fight is tough? What about the 17th century fight over math?|journal=The Los Angeles Times|date=May 3, 2014|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-alexander-science-mathematics-politics-20140504-story.html#axzz30iLdo870}} and Scientific American,{{cite journal|last1=Alexander|first1=Amir|title=A Brief History of Infinitesimals: The Idea That Gave Birth to Modern Calculus|journal=Scientific American|date=March 18, 2014|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-brief-history-of-infinitesimals-the-idea-that-gave-birth-to-modern-calculus/}} and he has been interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered,{{citation|title=Far From 'Infinitesimal': A Mathematical Paradox's Role In History|date=April 20, 2014|work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/04/20/303716795/far-from-infinitesimal-a-mathematical-paradoxs-role-in-history}} and Interfaith Voices.[http://interfaithradio.org/Story_Details/Integrating_Calculus_and_the_Catholic_Church Interfaith Voices]

Personal life

Alexander lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. He teaches history at UCLA.[http://www.history.ucla.edu/faculty/amir-alexander Amir Alexander, Adjunct professor], Department of History UCLA