What do the music of J. S. Bach, the basic forces of nature, Rubik's Cube, and the selection of mates have in common? They are all characterized by certain symmetries. Symmetry is the concept that bridges the gap between science and art, between the world of theoretical physics and the everyday world we see around us. Yet the "language" of symmetry--group theory in mathematics--emerged from a most unlikely source: an equation that couldn't be solved.

Over the millennia, mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations until they came to what is known as the quintic equation. For several centuries it resisted solution, until two mathematical prodigies independently discovered that it could not be solved by the usual methods, thereby opening the door to group theory. These young geniuses, a Norwegian named Niels Henrik Abel and a Frenchman named Evariste Galois, both died tragically. Galois, in fact, spent the night before his fatal duel (at the age of twenty) scribbling another brief summary of his proof, at one point writing in the margin of his notebook "I have no time."

The story of the equation that couldn't be solved is a story of brilliant mathematicians and a fascinating account of how mathematics illuminates a wide variety of disciplines. In this lively, engaging book, Mario Livio shows in an easily accessible way how group theory explains the symmetry and order of both the natural and the human-made worlds.

馬裏奧·利維奧是一位資深的天文學傢和太空望遠鏡科學研究所(STScl)科學部的前部長，太空望遠鏡科學研究所帶領組織瞭哈勃太空望遠鏡的科學計劃。他在以色列特拉維夫大學獲得瞭理論天體物理學博士學位，1981～1991年期間是以色列理工學院物理係教授。在STScl，他發錶瞭400多篇科學論文，獲得瞭眾多的研究奬項和傑齣教育奬。他是《黃金比例》和《加速的宇宙》的作者。《黃金比例》是一本獲得高度評價的關於數學和藝術的書，他因此書獲得瞭國際畢達哥拉斯奬和皮亞諾奬。

王誌標(1980～)，男，獲中科院數學與係統科學研究院管理學博士學位，中國人民大學經濟學碩士學位。現為河南大學經濟學院副教授。