Biggest, Fewest, and Weirdest: How Challenges of the Extreme Made Math

Many of the most significant areas of mathematics have emerged from questions about extremes: the shortest path between two points on a curved surface, the fewest colors needed for a map, the fastest fall, or the shortest proof. To illuminate how mathematicians drive knowledge forward by reaching for the edges, author and mathematician Ian Stewart explores stories of superlative problems—their history, the struggles to solve them, and the uses of some of the results.