Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes

Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes
Author: Bryan Bunch
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2012-10-16
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0486137937

Stimulating, thought-provoking analysis of the most interesting intellectual inconsistencies in mathematics, physics, and language, including being led astray by algebra (De Morgan's paradox). 1982 edition.

Paradoxes in Mathematics

Paradoxes in Mathematics
Author: Stanley J. Farlow
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2014-04-23
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 048649716X

Compiled by a prominent educator and author, this volume presents an intriguing mix of mathematical paradoxes — phenomena with surprising outcomes that can be resolved mathematically. Students and puzzle enthusiasts will get plenty of enjoyment mixed with a bit of painless mathematical instruction from 30 conundrums, including The Birthday Paradox, Aristotle's Magic Wheel, and A Greek Tragedy.

The Pea and the Sun

The Pea and the Sun
Author: Leonard M. Wapner
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2005-04-29
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1439864845

Take an apple and cut it into five pieces. Would you believe that these five pieces can be reassembled in such a fashion so as to create two apples equal in shape and size to the original? Would you believe that you could make something as large as the sun by breaking a pea into a finite number of pieces and putting it back together again? Neither did Leonard Wapner, author of The Pea and the Sun, when he was first introduced to the Banach-Tarski paradox, which asserts exactly such a notion. Written in an engaging style, The Pea and the Sun catalogues the people, events, and mathematics that contributed to the discovery of Banach and Tarski's magical paradox. Wapner makes one of the most interesting problems of advanced mathematics accessible to the non-mathematician.

Paradoxes in Probability Theory

Paradoxes in Probability Theory
Author: William Eckhardt
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 85
Release: 2012-09-26
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9400751400

Paradoxes provide a vehicle for exposing misinterpretations and misapplications of accepted principles. This book discusses seven paradoxes surrounding probability theory. Some remain the focus of controversy; others have allegedly been solved, however the accepted solutions are demonstrably incorrect. Each paradox is shown to rest on one or more fallacies. Instead of the esoteric, idiosyncratic, and untested methods that have been brought to bear on these problems, the book invokes uncontroversial probability principles, acceptable both to frequentists and subjectivists. The philosophical disputation inspired by these paradoxes is shown to be misguided and unnecessary; for instance, startling claims concerning human destiny and the nature of reality are directly related to fallacious reasoning in a betting paradox, and a problem analyzed in philosophy journals is resolved by means of a computer program.​

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
Author: Martin Gardner
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2012-05-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0486131629

Fair, witty appraisal of cranks, quacks, and quackeries of science and pseudoscience: hollow earth, Velikovsky, orgone energy, Dianetics, flying saucers, Bridey Murphy, food and medical fads, and much more.

Hexaflexagons, Probability Paradoxes, and the Tower of Hanoi

Hexaflexagons, Probability Paradoxes, and the Tower of Hanoi
Author: Martin Gardner
Publisher:
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2008-09-08
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN:

This book of the earliest of Gardner's enormously popular Scientific American columns and puzzles continues to challenge and fascinate readers. Now the author, in consultation with experts, has added updates to all the chapters, including new game variations, mathematical proofs, and other developments and discoveries.

Paradoxes

Paradoxes
Author: Hamza E. Alsamraee
Publisher: Curious Math Publications
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2020-09-10
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1735715603

Does .999?=1? Can you cut and reassemble a sphere into two identically sized spheres? Is the consistency of mathematical systems unprovable? Surprisingly, the answer to all of these questions is yes! And at the heart of each question, there lies paradox. For millennia, paradoxes have shaped mathematics and guided mathematical progress forwards. From the ancient paradoxes of Zeno to the modern paradoxes of Russell, paradoxes remind us of the constant need to revamp our mathematical understanding. It is for this reason that paradoxes are so important. Paradoxes: Guiding Forces in Mathematical Exploration provides a survey of mathematical paradoxes spanning a wide variety of topics. It delves into each paradox mathematically, philosophically, and historically, and attempts to provide a full picture of how paradoxes contributed to the progress of mathematics and guided it in many ways. In addition, it discusses how paradoxes can be useful as educational tools. All of that, plus the fact that it is written in a way that is accessible to anyone with a high school background in mathematics! Entertaining and educational, this book will appeal to any reader looking for a mathematical and philosophical challenge.

My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles

My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles
Author: Martin Gardner
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2013-04-10
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 0486320324

The noted expert selects 70 of his favorite "short" puzzles, including such mind-bogglers as The Returning Explorer, The Mutilated Chessboard, Scrambled Box Tops, and dozens more involving logic and basic math. Solutions included.

Mathematical Fallacies, Flaws, and Flimflam

Mathematical Fallacies, Flaws, and Flimflam
Author: Edward Barbeau
Publisher: MAA
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2000-06-15
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780883855294

Through hard experience mathematicians have learned to subject even the most 'evident' assertions to rigorous scrutiny, as intuition can often be misleading. This book collects and analyses a mass of such errors, drawn from the work of students, textbooks, and the media, as well as from professional mathematicians themselves.