Noether Gets Her Due

A new book by astrophysicist Dave Goldberg tackles the centrality of symmetry to the shape of reality, and places mathematician Emmy Noether at the heart of it all.

Although New Scientist reviewer Stephen Battersby says that The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How hidden symmetries shape reality ranges widely, one goal of Goldberg's ambitious book is to convince readers that Noether's proof that "every symmetry in nature leads to a conserved quantity" is "possibly the most profound idea in science." 

Writes Battersby:

Although Noether is well known among mathematicians today, having established much of the basis of modern algebra, she deserves wider fame. Goldberg is a cheerleader, considering her the star of his story.

Read the review.