"In this book, I will describe one of the biggest ideas
to come out of mathematics in the last fifty years:
the Langlands Program, considered by many as
the Grand Unified Theory of mathematics. It’s a
fascinating theory that weaves a web of tantalizing
connections between mathematical fields that
at first glance seem to be light years apart:
algebra, geometry, number theory, analysis,
and quantum physics. If we think of those fields as
continents in the hidden world of mathematics, then
the Langlands Program is the ultimate teleportation
device, capable of getting us instantly from one of
them to another, and back."
— Edward Frenkel, excerpt from his new book
in today's online New York Times
The four areas of pure mathematics that Frenkel
names do not, of course, seem to be "light years
apart" to those familiar with the development of
mathematics in the nineteenth century.
Related material: Sunday morning's post.