Download or read book An Excursion in Diagrammatic Algebra written by J. Scott Carter and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2012 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this book is to give as detailed a description as is possible of one of the most beautiful and complicated examples in low-dimensional topology. This example is a gateway to a new idea of higher dimensional algebra in which diagrams replace algebraic expressions and relationships between diagrams represent algebraic relations. The reader may examine the changes in the illustrations in a leisurely fashion; or with scrutiny, the reader will become familiar and develop a facility for these diagrammatic computations. The text describes the essential topological ideas through metaphors that are experienced in everyday life: shadows, the human form, the intersections between walls, and the creases in a shirt or a pair of trousers. Mathematically informed reader will benefit from the informal introduction of ideas. This volume will also appeal to scientifically literate individuals who appreciate mathematical beauty.