In 1924 the firm of Julius Springer published the first volume of Methods of Mathematical Physics by Richard Courant and David Hilbert. In the preface, Courant says this: Since the sevc nteenth century, physical intuition has served as a vital source for mathematical problems and methods. Recent trends and fashions have, however, weakened the connection between mathematics and physics; mathematicians, turning away from the roots of mathematics in intuition, have concentrated on refinement and emphasized the postulational side of mathematics, anel at times have overlooked the unity of their...