A Mathematician's Apology

A Mathematician's Apology is a book about mathematics which was written in 1940.

Overview

It was written by a British mathematician called G. H. Hardy (1877—1947). He used the essay to try to justify spending his life working on mathematics. It is said he wrote it for two reasons:

1. He was getting old and found it more difficult to work on mathematics. He spent time writing the essay instead because discovering new mathematical ideas was now too hard for him.
2. He believed that mathematics should be investigated for interest, instead of for making other things like weapons.

References

• G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician's Apology, Cambridge University Press (1940). 153 pages. ISBN 0-521-42706-1.