Mark Kac
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Mark Kac (Marek Kac) (b. 3 August 1914, Krzemieniec, now Ukraine; d. 26 October 1984, California, USA) (pronounced kahts) was a Polish mathematician. His main interest was probability theory. His question "can you hear the shape of a drum?" set off research into spectral theory, with the idea of understanding the extent to which the spectrum allows one to read back the geometry. (In the end, the answer was "no", in general.) His book of popularisation with Stanislaw Ulam is a minor classic.
[edit] Books
- Mark Kac and Stanisław Ulam: Mathematics and Logic: Retrospect and Prospects, Praeger, New York (1968) Dover paperback reprint.
- Mark Kac, Enigmas of Chance: An Autobiography, Harper and Row, New York, 1985. Sloan Foundation Series. Published posthumously with a memoriam note by Gian-Carlo Rota. Kac's distinction between an "ordinary genius" like Hans Bethe and a "magician" like Richard Feynman has been widely quoted. (Kac knew both at Cornell University.)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- O'Connor, John J., and Edmund F. Robertson. "Mark Kac". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
- Mark Kac at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
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