A Mathematician's Apology
A Mathematician's Apology is a 1940 essay by British mathematician G. H. Hardy, which offers a defence of the pursuit of mathematics. Central to Hardy's "apology" – in the sense of a formal justification or defence – is an argument that mathematics has value independent of possible applications. Hardy located this value in the beauty of mathematics, and gave some examples of and criteria for mathematical beauty. The book also includes a brief autobiography, and gives the layman an insight into the mind of a working mathematician.
1st edition
In A Mathematician's Apology, G. H. Hardy defined a set of criteria for mathematical beauty.
Godfrey Harold Hardy was an English mathematician, known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis. In biology, he is known for the Hardy–Weinberg principle, a basic principle of population genetics.
Hardy, c. 1927
Charles F. Wilson, Srinivasa Ramanujan (centre), G. H. Hardy (extreme right), and other scientists at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, c. 1910s