Mathematical Curiosities

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2010-09-03
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781847651280

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Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities by Ian Stewart Pdf

School maths is not the interesting part. The real fun is elsewhere. Like a magpie, Ian Stewart has collected the most enlightening, entertaining and vexing 'curiosities' of maths over the years... Now, the private collection is displayed in his cabinet. There are some hidden gems of logic, geometry and probability -- like how to extract a cherry from a cocktail glass (harder than you think), a pop up dodecahedron, the real reason why you can't divide anything by zero and some tips for making money by proving the obvious. Scattered among these are keys to unlocking the mysteries of Fermat's last theorem, the Poincar Conjecture, chaos theory, and the P/NP problem for which a million dollar prize is on offer. There are beguiling secrets about familiar names like Pythagoras or prime numbers, as well as anecdotes about great mathematicians. Pull out the drawers of the Professor's cabinet and who knows what could happen...

Author : Alfred S. Posamentier,Ingmar Lehmann
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2014-08-12
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781616149321

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Mathematical Curiosities by Alfred S. Posamentier,Ingmar Lehmann Pdf

An innovative and appealing way for the layperson to develop math skills--while actually enjoying it Most people agree that math is important, but few would say it's fun. This book will show you that the subject you learned to hate in high school can be as entertaining as a witty remark, as engrossing as the mystery novel you can't put down--in short, fun! As veteran math educators Posamentier and Lehmann demonstrate, when you realize that doing math can be enjoyable, you open a door into a world of unexpected insights while learning an important skill. The authors illustrate the point with many easily understandable examples. One of these is what mathematicians call the "Ruth-Aaron pair" (714 and 715), named after the respective career home runs of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. These two consecutive integers contain a host of interesting features, one of which is that their prime factors when added together have the same sum. The authors also explore the unusual aspects of such numbers as 11 and 18, which have intriguing properties usually overlooked by standard math curriculums. And to make you a better all-around problem solver, a variety of problems is presented that appear simple but have surprisingly clever solutions. If math has frustrated you over the years, this delightful approach will teach you many things you thought were beyond your reach, while conveying the key message that math can and should be anything but boring.

Author : Barry R. Clarke
Publisher : Courier Corporation
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2013-06-19
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9780486315720

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Mathematical Puzzles and Curiosities by Barry R. Clarke Pdf

Intriguing collection features recreational math, logic, and creativity puzzles. Classic and new puzzles include The Monty Hall Problem, The Unexpected Hanging, The Shakespeare Puzzles, and Finger Multiplication.

Author : Leonard M. Wapner
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2012-06-04
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781568817217

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Unexpected Expectations by Leonard M. Wapner Pdf

Unexpected Expectations: The Curiosities of a Mathematical Crystal Ball explores how paradoxical challenges involving mathematical expectation often necessitate a reexamination of basic premises. The author takes you through mathematical paradoxes associated with seemingly straightforward applications of mathematical expectation and shows how these unexpected contradictions may push you to reconsider the legitimacy of the applications. The book requires only an understanding of basic algebraic operations and includes supplemental mathematical background in chapter appendices. After a history of probability theory, it introduces the basic laws of probability as well as the definition and applications of mathematical expectation/expected value (E). The remainder of the text covers unexpected results related to mathematical expectation, including: The roles of aversion and risk in rational decision making A class of expected value paradoxes referred to as envelope problems Parrondo’s paradox—how negative (losing) expectations can be combined to give a winning result Problems associated with imperfect recall Non-zero-sum games, such as the game of chicken and the prisoner’s dilemma Newcomb’s paradox—a great philosophical paradox of free will Benford’s law and its use in computer design and fraud detection While useful in areas as diverse as game theory, quantum mechanics, and forensic science, mathematical expectation generates paradoxes that frequently leave questions unanswered yet reveal interesting surprises. Encouraging you to embrace the mysteries of mathematics, this book helps you appreciate the applications of mathematical expectation, "a statistical crystal ball." Listen to an interview with the author on NewBooksinMath.com.

Author : Levine Gavrielle,Posamentier Alfred S,Virgadamo Danielle Sauro
Publisher : World Scientific
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2019-03-25
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9789813271449

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Tools To Help Your Children Learn Math: Strategies, Curiosities, And Stories To Make Math Fun For Parents And Children by Levine Gavrielle,Posamentier Alfred S,Virgadamo Danielle Sauro Pdf

Parents need to take an ever-increasing role in their child's learning experience. However, what to do and how to do it is often not prescribed to the parents. This book offers a wide variety of aspects related to the parent's role as a support to their child's learning of mathematics, and above all appreciation for the subject.The uniqueness of this book is that we provide the parent the information they need about how mathematics is taught in today's early grades. We then provide a plethora of ideas that can motivate children with information beyond that which is taught in the classroom.

Author : Rob Eastaway
Publisher : JR Books Limited
Page : 176 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2013-02-18
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781907532580

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How Many Socks Make a Pair? by Rob Eastaway Pdf

DIV How many socks make a pair? The answer is not always two. And behind this question lies a world of maths that can be surprising, amusing and even beautiful. Using playing cards, a newspaper, the back of an envelope, a Sudoku, some pennies and of course a pair of socks, Rob Eastaway shows how maths can demonstrate its secret beauties in even the most mundane of everyday objects. If you already like maths youÕll discover plenty of new surprises. And if youÕve never picked up a maths book in your life, this one will change your view of the subject forever. /div

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2013-03-07
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781847653512

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The Great Mathematical Problems by Ian Stewart Pdf

There are some mathematical problems whose significance goes beyond the ordinary - like Fermat's Last Theorem or Goldbach's Conjecture - they are the enigmas which define mathematics. The Great Mathematical Problems explains why these problems exist, why they matter, what drives mathematicians to incredible lengths to solve them and where they stand in the context of mathematics and science as a whole. It contains solved problems - like the Poincar Conjecture, cracked by the eccentric genius Grigori Perelman, who refused academic honours and a million-dollar prize for his work, and ones which, like the Riemann Hypothesis, remain baffling after centuries. Stewart is the guide to this mysterious and exciting world, showing how modern mathematicians constantly rise to the challenges set by their predecessors, as the great mathematical problems of the past succumb to the new techniques and ideas of the present.

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 335 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2011-04-07
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781847653505

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Mathematics Of Life by Ian Stewart Pdf

A new partnership of biologists and mathematicians is picking apart the hidden complexity of animals and plants to throw fresh light on the behaviour of entire organisms, how they interact and how changes in biological diversity affect the planet's ecological balance. Mathematics offers new and sometimes startling perspectives on evolution and how patterns of inheritance and population work out over time-scales ranging from millions to hundreds of years - as well as what's going on to change us right now. Ian Stewart, in characteristically clear and entertaining fashion, explores these and a whole range of pertinent issues, including how far genes control behaviour and the nature of life itself. He shows how far mathematicians and biologists are succeeding in tackling some of the most difficult scientific problems the human race has ever confronted and where their research is currently taking us.

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 559 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2014-10-02
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781847654328

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Professor Stewart's Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries by Ian Stewart Pdf

Like its wildly popular predecessors Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities and Hoard of Mathematical Treasures, Professor Stewart's brand-new book is a miscellany of over 150 mathematical curios and conundrums, packed with trademark humour and numerous illustrations.In addition to the fascinating formulae and thrilling theorems familiar to Professor Stewart's fans, the Casebook follows the adventures of the not-so-great detective Hemlock Soames and his sidekick Dr John Watsup (immortalised in the phrase 'Watsup, Doc?'). By a remarkable coincidence they live at 222B Baker Street, just across the road from their more illustrious neighbour who, for reasons known only to Dr Watsup, is never mentioned by name. A typical item is 'The Case of the Face-Down Aces', a mathematical magic trick of quite devilish cunning... Ranging from one-liners to four-page investigations from the frontiers of mathematical research, the Casebook reveals Professor Stewart at his challenging and entertaining best.

Author : Matt Parker
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2020-01-21
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9780593084700

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Humble Pi by Matt Parker Pdf

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AN ADAM SAVAGE BOOK CLUB PICK The book-length answer to anyone who ever put their hand up in math class and asked, “When am I ever going to use this in the real world?” “Fun, informative, and relentlessly entertaining, Humble Pi is a charming and very readable guide to some of humanity's all-time greatest miscalculations—that also gives you permission to feel a little better about some of your own mistakes.” —Ryan North, author of How to Invent Everything Our whole world is built on math, from the code running a website to the equations enabling the design of skyscrapers and bridges. Most of the time this math works quietly behind the scenes . . . until it doesn’t. All sorts of seemingly innocuous mathematical mistakes can have significant consequences. Math is easy to ignore until a misplaced decimal point upends the stock market, a unit conversion error causes a plane to crash, or someone divides by zero and stalls a battleship in the middle of the ocean. Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.

Author : Oswald Jacoby,William H. Benson
Publisher : Courier Corporation
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2013-05-23
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780486168364

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Intriguing Mathematical Problems by Oswald Jacoby,William H. Benson Pdf

Treasury of challenging brainteasers includes puzzles involving numbers, letters, probability, reasoning, more: The Enterprising Snail, The Fly and the Bicycles, The Lovesick Cockroaches, many others. No advanced math needed. Solutions.

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2015-04-07
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9780465042715

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Professor Stewart's Incredible Numbers by Ian Stewart Pdf

At its heart, mathematics is about numbers, our fundamental tools for understanding the world. In Professor Stewart's Incredible Numbers, Ian Stewart offers a delightful introduction to the numbers that surround us, from the common (Pi and 2) to the uncommon but no less consequential (1.059463 and 43,252,003,274,489,856,000). Along the way, Stewart takes us through prime numbers, cubic equations, the concept of zero, the possible positions on the Rubik's Cube, the role of numbers in human history, and beyond! An unfailingly genial guide, Stewart brings his characteristic wit and erudition to bear on these incredible numbers, offering an engaging primer on the principles and power of math.

Author : Keith J Devlin,Keith J. Devlin
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 0231116381

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Mathematics by Keith J Devlin,Keith J. Devlin Pdf

Presents a survey of advances in mathematics over the past twenty-five years, including such topics as prime numbers, factories, sets, and number systems

Author : Gerald Jenkins,Anne Wild
Publisher : Prentice Hall
Page : 28 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 1982-11
Category : Mathematical recreations
ISBN : 0135612179

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Mathematical Curiosities II by Gerald Jenkins,Anne Wild Pdf

Author : Shakuntala Devi
Publisher : Orient Paperbacks
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2005-03
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 8122200389

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Figuring: The Joy Of Numbers by Shakuntala Devi Pdf

There is a range and richness to numbers. They can come alive, cease to be symbols written on a black board, and lead the reader into a world of intellectual adventure where calculations are thrilling. In Figuring: The Joy of Numbers, Shakuntala Devi dramatizes the endless fascination of numbers and their ability to amaze and entertain. She offers easy-to-learn short cuts on how to add long columns in your head, multiply, divide, and find square roots quickly, almost magically. Fractions, decimals, and compound interest become clear and easy to deal with. The author takes delight in working out huge problems mentally, and sometimes even faster than computers. In Figuring she shares her secrets with you.