---
product_id: 4099515
title: "Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession"
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# Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession

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## Description

In this critically acclaimed international bestseller, Petros Papachristos, a mathematical prodigy, has devoted much of his life trying to prove one of the greatest mathematical challenges of all time: Goldbach's Conjecture, the deceptively simple claim that every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes. His feverish and singular pursuit of this goal has come to define his life. Now an old man, he is looked on with suspicion and shame by his family-until his ambitious young nephew intervenes. Seeking to understand his uncle's mysterious mind, the narrator of this novel unravels his story, a dramatic tale set against a tableau of brilliant historical figures-among them G. H. Hardy, the self-taught Indian genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, and a young Kurt Gödel. Meanwhile, as Petros recounts his own life's work, a bond is formed between uncle and nephew, pulling each one deeper into mathematical obsession, and risking both of their sanity.

Review: A Truly Great Novel! - I recently read "Uncle Petros & Goldbach's Conjecture", and I found this to be the first novel I've ever really enjoyed reading. It was eloquently written, and it is full of episodes of both human folly and wisdom. Given that I'm an amateur mathematician myself, and especially given my strong emphasis upon number theory, this novel struck a chord of enthrallment with me. An example of the folly of human pride, to which we all can easily fall victim, the narrator has Uncle Petros state the following: "However, a mathematician who is just average -- I'm talking about a researcher, of course, not a high-school teacher -- is a living, walking tragedy..." Such a characterization of a "merely average" mathematician is an arrogant repudiation of the wonderful successes achieved by such average mathematicians -- maybe never discovering any great theorems, or making any substantial contribution to mathematics, yet fulfilling a vital role in human society whose technical world is run largely by mathematical principles, with most of the technical successes being accomplished by more-or-less "average" technicians and mathematicians. Uncle Petros ended up rather tragically, not because he had too little mathematical ability for a good, creative, and productive mathematical life, but rather because he got his bloated ego attached to an absurd characterization of what it is to be a successful mathematician. The sheer joy of doing mathematics is sufficient to render a life of "average" mathematical achievement worthy of respect and admiration. The author of this novel, Doxiadis, did a masterful job of giving a hypothetical account of a mathematician of great potential who permitted his ego to run amok with an absurdly high benchmark for mathematical success. Uncle Petros is a classic example of how one should NOT do mathematics, and the author created an enchanting story to demonstrate the folly of the likes of Petros. This book is a great read for the mathematically inclined among us.
Review: In the life of the mind what are the risks - Bottom Line First: It is difficult to know who will like Apostolos Doxiadis’ Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture. Much of the story telling is built around a failed attempt to solve a mathematical notion. Not just Mathematics, but Number Theory. This alone will scare off readers. Doxiadis has used what to some is a boring and highly esoteric topic to build a very human mystery. This is also a story about family loyalty, goal setting, failure and just how high level thinking and life can come together. I liked Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture. I encourage you to step into this very real fiction about people. You may have to push your comfort zone. No violence, no sex, no particular politics, mild language and people who like and care for each other. According to Wiki: “Goldbach's conjecture is one of the oldest and best-known unsolved problems in number theory and all of mathematics. It states: Every even integer greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.” The fact that it is called a conjecture means that it is not much more than a guess. Is there a practical application for this conjecture? I do not know and no one in this book cares. What matters is that it represents to the right mathematical thinker a challenge. Solving or attempting to solve these kinds of problems have a history of producing secondary methodologies with some kinds of independent value, but this is settling for the invention of the ball bearing when your goal was to invent the automobile. So much for the central narrative driver of the book. Nephew Papachritos becomes fascinated by his remote and disparaged, failed Uncle the one time mathematical prodigy, Petros. Risking his father’ wrath and later hisown future the Nephew immerses himself in an effort to comprehend the world of Math at its highest and most remote thinking. His purpose is less to achieve any great breakthroughs as to fully understand the motives and meaning of his uncle’s life. Among the way we are introduced to great minds like G. H. Hardy, Kurt Godel, Bertrand Russell and Alan Turing. First their minds and later their fates as humans. For many the life at the forward edge of mathematical thinking ends young and their life as humans, punishing. This is good story telling. You are invited to stretch your mind. Doxiadis asks you to enter the world of those who can think these kinds of thoughts, without forcing you to try and think at this level. Instead the real story is about the humans. What are their motives and what costs are they risking to follow where their brains take them?

## Features

- Used Book in Good Condition

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,185,179 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #18,795 in American Literature (Books) #44,560 in Mysteries (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 375 Reviews |

## Images

![Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81uSRzgk3GS.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Truly Great Novel!
*by J***K on October 19, 2011*

I recently read "Uncle Petros & Goldbach's Conjecture", and I found this to be the first novel I've ever really enjoyed reading. It was eloquently written, and it is full of episodes of both human folly and wisdom. Given that I'm an amateur mathematician myself, and especially given my strong emphasis upon number theory, this novel struck a chord of enthrallment with me. An example of the folly of human pride, to which we all can easily fall victim, the narrator has Uncle Petros state the following: "However, a mathematician who is just average -- I'm talking about a researcher, of course, not a high-school teacher -- is a living, walking tragedy..." Such a characterization of a "merely average" mathematician is an arrogant repudiation of the wonderful successes achieved by such average mathematicians -- maybe never discovering any great theorems, or making any substantial contribution to mathematics, yet fulfilling a vital role in human society whose technical world is run largely by mathematical principles, with most of the technical successes being accomplished by more-or-less "average" technicians and mathematicians. Uncle Petros ended up rather tragically, not because he had too little mathematical ability for a good, creative, and productive mathematical life, but rather because he got his bloated ego attached to an absurd characterization of what it is to be a successful mathematician. The sheer joy of doing mathematics is sufficient to render a life of "average" mathematical achievement worthy of respect and admiration. The author of this novel, Doxiadis, did a masterful job of giving a hypothetical account of a mathematician of great potential who permitted his ego to run amok with an absurdly high benchmark for mathematical success. Uncle Petros is a classic example of how one should NOT do mathematics, and the author created an enchanting story to demonstrate the folly of the likes of Petros. This book is a great read for the mathematically inclined among us.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ In the life of the mind what are the risks
*by P***D on December 17, 2016*

Bottom Line First: It is difficult to know who will like Apostolos Doxiadis’ Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture. Much of the story telling is built around a failed attempt to solve a mathematical notion. Not just Mathematics, but Number Theory. This alone will scare off readers. Doxiadis has used what to some is a boring and highly esoteric topic to build a very human mystery. This is also a story about family loyalty, goal setting, failure and just how high level thinking and life can come together. I liked Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture. I encourage you to step into this very real fiction about people. You may have to push your comfort zone. No violence, no sex, no particular politics, mild language and people who like and care for each other. According to Wiki: “Goldbach's conjecture is one of the oldest and best-known unsolved problems in number theory and all of mathematics. It states: Every even integer greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.” The fact that it is called a conjecture means that it is not much more than a guess. Is there a practical application for this conjecture? I do not know and no one in this book cares. What matters is that it represents to the right mathematical thinker a challenge. Solving or attempting to solve these kinds of problems have a history of producing secondary methodologies with some kinds of independent value, but this is settling for the invention of the ball bearing when your goal was to invent the automobile. So much for the central narrative driver of the book. Nephew Papachritos becomes fascinated by his remote and disparaged, failed Uncle the one time mathematical prodigy, Petros. Risking his father’ wrath and later hisown future the Nephew immerses himself in an effort to comprehend the world of Math at its highest and most remote thinking. His purpose is less to achieve any great breakthroughs as to fully understand the motives and meaning of his uncle’s life. Among the way we are introduced to great minds like G. H. Hardy, Kurt Godel, Bertrand Russell and Alan Turing. First their minds and later their fates as humans. For many the life at the forward edge of mathematical thinking ends young and their life as humans, punishing. This is good story telling. You are invited to stretch your mind. Doxiadis asks you to enter the world of those who can think these kinds of thoughts, without forcing you to try and think at this level. Instead the real story is about the humans. What are their motives and what costs are they risking to follow where their brains take them?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was captivated the entire novel
*by M***S on July 9, 2020*

I suspect this won't be everybody's cup of tea but I was completely enthralled. I have myself been working on an unsolved problem (at least I think it is) for about a year and I was recognizing many of the thoughts and feelings expressed in the book. I am definitely not a mathematician but I perked up at concepts such as intermediate results discovered while on my quest. It was fun seeing historical figures inserted in believable ways and being reminded of their enormous contributions to math. One complaint that might confuse or befuddle readers without math skills is that the transcription in the Kindle edition is not 100% accurate. My *guess* is that a program scanned a manuscript and didn't *quite* pull it off. Two examples that illustrate the point involved superscripts not being interpreted correctly: "The words that 299 (that's one half of 2^100)". Obviously, 299 is not half of 2 to the hundredth power. 2^99 is half of 2^100. The other one was when Harding was visiting Ramanujan in the hospital and commented that the license plate of a cab of 1729, which he didn't find very interesting. Ramanujan replied that it was interesting because it is the smallest number that can be described as the sum of 2 cubes in two ways. The footnote "clarified" this with: 1729 = 123 + 13 = 103 +93. You might tend to read that and think: Huh? Superscripts again: 1729 = 12^3 +1^3 = 10^3 + 9^3. Those are, however, minor quibbles since I suspect most people reading this will have an interest in math and not get too freaked out by the apparent nonsense. This book was the first in a long time that I read all at once. We often hear about "page-turners" and "I couldn't put it down". This book did that for me.

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