Random curves: journeys of a mathematician

Neal Koblitz (auth.)9783540740773, 3540740775, 9783540740780

These autobiographical memoirs of Neal Koblitz, coinventor of one of the two most popular forms of encryption and digital signature, cover many topics besides his own personal career in mathematics and cryptography – travels to the Soviet Union, Latin America, Vietnam and elsewhere, political activism, and academic controversies relating to math education, the C. P. Snow two-culture problem, and mistreatment of women in academia.

The stories speak for themselves and reflect the experiences of a student and later a scientist caught up in the tumultuous events of his generation.

Table of contents :
Front Matter….Pages I-IX
Early Years….Pages 1-8
Harvard….Pages 9-19
SDS….Pages 21-46
The Army….Pages 47-62
Spring of 1972….Pages 63-83
Academics….Pages 85-94
The Soviet Union….Pages 95-122
Racism and Apartheid….Pages 123-162
Vietnam Part I….Pages 163-193
Vietnam Part II….Pages 195-225
Nicaragua and Cuba….Pages 227-252
El Salvador and Peru….Pages 253-276
Two Cultures….Pages 277-296
Cryptography….Pages 297-329
Education….Pages 331-352
Arizona….Pages 353-374
Back Matter….Pages 375-392