Mathematics and the Imagination / by Edward Kasner and James Newman
Material type: TextPublication details: Mineola, N.Y. : Dover Publications, 2001.Description: 380pISBN:- 9780486417035
- 510 KAS-M
Item type | Current library | Home library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Dept. of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Processing Center | Dept. of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics | 510 KAS-M (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | DCB1457 | ||
Book | Dept. of Statistics Processing Center | Dept. of Statistics | 510 KAS (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | STA4526 |
Browsing Dept. of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics shelves, Shelving location: Processing Center Close shelf browser (Hides shelf browser)
510 GRO-G Great circle of mysteries : Mathematics, the world, the mind | 510 HIG-M Mathematics for the Imagination | 510 KAP-V Vedic Mathematics for all | 510 KAS-M Mathematics and the Imagination / | 510 KLI.M Mathematics for the Nonmathematician | 510 LAN-M Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Genetic Analysis | 510 LON-M Mathematical Reasoning for Elementary Teachers |
I. New names for old -- II. Beyond the googol -- III. [Pi] -- IV. Assorted geometries : plane and fancy -- V. Pastimes of past and present times -- VI. Paradox lost and paradox regained -- VII. Chance and chanceability -- VIII. Rubber-sheet geometry -- IX. Change and changeability -- Epilogue. Mathematics and the imagination.
You don't have to love math to enjoy a hand of cards, a night at the casino, or a puzzle. But your pleasure and prowess at games, gambling, and other numerically related pursuits can be heightened with this entertaining volume, in which the authors offer a fascinating view of some of the lesser-known and more imaginative aspects of mathematics. A brief and breezy explanation of the new language of mathematics precedes a smorgasbord of such thought-provoking subjects as the googolplex (the largest definite number anyone has yet bothered to conceive of); assorted geometries -- plane and fancy; famous puzzles that made mathematical history; and tantalizing paradoxes. Gamblers receive fair warning on the laws of chance; a look at rubber-sheet geometry twists circles into loops without sacrificing certain important properties; and an exploration of the mathematics of change and growth shows how calculus, among its other uses, helps trace the path of falling bombs. Written with wit and clarity for the intelligent reader who has taken high school and perhaps college math, this volume deftly progresses from simple arithmetic to calculus and non-Euclidean geometry. It "lives up to its title in every way [and] might well have been merely terrifying, whereas it proves to be both charming and exciting." -- Saturday Review of Literature.
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