The Mathematical Experience, Study Edition

The Mathematical Experience, Study Edition
Author: Philip Davis
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 522
Release: 2011-10-28
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0817682953

Winner of the 1983 National Book Award! "...a perfectly marvelous book about the Queen of Sciences, from which one will get a real feeling for what mathematicians do and who they are. The exposition is clear and full of wit and humor..." - The New Yorker (1983 National Book Award edition) Mathematics has been a human activity for thousands of years. Yet only a few people from the vast population of users are professional mathematicians, who create, teach, foster, and apply it in a variety of situations. The authors of this book believe that it should be possible for these professional mathematicians to explain to non-professionals what they do, what they say they are doing, and why the world should support them at it. They also believe that mathematics should be taught to non-mathematics majors in such a way as to instill an appreciation of the power and beauty of mathematics. Many people from around the world have told the authors that they have done precisely that with the first edition and they have encouraged publication of this revised edition complete with exercises for helping students to demonstrate their understanding. This edition of the book should find a new generation of general readers and students who would like to know what mathematics is all about. It will prove invaluable as a course text for a general mathematics appreciation course, one in which the student can combine an appreciation for the esthetics with some satisfying and revealing applications. The text is ideal for 1) a GE course for Liberal Arts students 2) a Capstone course for perspective teachers 3) a writing course for mathematics teachers. A wealth of customizable online course materials for the book can be obtained from Elena Anne Marchisotto ([email protected]) upon request.

Mind Tools

Mind Tools
Author: Rudy Rucker
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013-11-21
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0486492281

Originally published: Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.

Formulae for the Mariner

Formulae for the Mariner
Author: Richard M. Plant
Publisher: Schiffer + ORM
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2009-06-30
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1507300735

This book is a compilation of all the formulae that a mariner is commonly called upon to use but the exact workings of which he has perhaps forgotten. For each subject category, the author states the basic parameters in narrative form, often including a figure, graph, chart, diagram, or table, and then provides accompanying equations and their amplifications. Although some formulae that are simpler in format are propounded in other texts, many of those formulae lead to confusion in that “special rules†must be applied to them in order to obtain a correct answer. However, the rules applied to the formulae in this book work for all problems. In a great circle sailing situation, for example, the fact of whether the vertex is ahead of you or behind you does not matter—if you apply the rule(s) given in this book, you will get the correct answer. Another important feature of the book is its devotion of over ten pages of material to the international system of units (S.I.)

Circles Disturbed

Circles Disturbed
Author: Apostolos Doxiadis
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 593
Release: 2012-03-18
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1400842689

Why narrative is essential to mathematics Circles Disturbed brings together important thinkers in mathematics, history, and philosophy to explore the relationship between mathematics and narrative. The book's title recalls the last words of the great Greek mathematician Archimedes before he was slain by a Roman soldier—"Don't disturb my circles"—words that seem to refer to two radically different concerns: that of the practical person living in the concrete world of reality, and that of the theoretician lost in a world of abstraction. Stories and theorems are, in a sense, the natural languages of these two worlds—stories representing the way we act and interact, and theorems giving us pure thought, distilled from the hustle and bustle of reality. Yet, though the voices of stories and theorems seem totally different, they share profound connections and similarities. A book unlike any other, Circles Disturbed delves into topics such as the way in which historical and biographical narratives shape our understanding of mathematics and mathematicians, the development of "myths of origins" in mathematics, the structure and importance of mathematical dreams, the role of storytelling in the formation of mathematical intuitions, the ways mathematics helps us organize the way we think about narrative structure, and much more. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Amir Alexander, David Corfield, Peter Galison, Timothy Gowers, Michael Harris, David Herman, Federica La Nave, G.E.R. Lloyd, Uri Margolin, Colin McLarty, Jan Christoph Meister, Arkady Plotnitsky, and Bernard Teissier.

Struck by Genius

Struck by Genius
Author: Jason Padgett
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0544045645

From head trauma to scientific wonder—a “deeply absorbing . . . fascinating” true story of acquired savant syndrome (Entertainment Weekly). Twelve years ago, Jason Padgett had never made it past pre-algebra. But a violent mugging forever altered the way his brain worked. It turned an ordinary math-averse student into an extraordinary young man with a unique gift to see the world as no one else does: water pours from the faucet in crystalline patterns, numbers call to mind distinct geometric shapes, and intricate fractal patterns emerge from the movement of tree branches, revealing the intrinsic mathematical designs hidden in the objects around us. As his ability to understand physics skyrocketed, the “accidental genius” developed the astonishing ability to draw the complex geometric shapes he saw everywhere. Overcoming huge setbacks and embracing his new mind, Padgett “gained a vision of the world that is as beautiful as it is challenging.” Along the way he fell in love, found joy in numbers, and spent plenty of time having his head examined (The New York Times Book Review). Illustrated with Jason’s stunning, mathematically precise artwork, his singular story reveals the wondrous potential of the human brain, and “an incredible phenomenon which points toward dormant potential—a little Rain Man perhaps—within us all” (Darold A. Treffert, MD, author of Islands of Genius: The Bountiful Mind of the Autistic, Acquired, and Sudden Savant). “A tale worthy of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! . . . This memoir sends a hopeful message to families touched by brain injury, autism, or neurological damage from strokes.” —Booklist “How extraordinary it is to contemplate the bizarre gifts that might lie within all of us.” —People

The Joy of X

The Joy of X
Author: Steven Henry Strogatz
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2012
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0547517653

A delightful tour of the greatest ideas of math, showing how math intersects with philosophy, science, art, business, current events, and everyday life, by an acclaimed science communicator and regular contributor to the "New York Times."

Reeds Vol 1: Mathematics for Marine Engineers

Reeds Vol 1: Mathematics for Marine Engineers
Author: Kevin Corner
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 657
Release: 2013-07-08
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1408175568

This exciting new edition covers the core subject areas of arithmetic, algebra, mensuration in 2D and 3D, trigonometry and geometry, graphs, calculus and statistics and probability for Marine Engineering students. Initial examples have been designed purely to practise mathematical technique and, once these skills have been mastered, further examples focus on engineering situations where the appropriate skills may be utilised. The practical questions are primarily from a marine engineering background but questions from other disciplines, such as electrical engineering, will also be covered, and reference made to the use of advanced calculators where relevant.