Book of Curious and Interesting Puzzles

Book of Curious and Interesting Puzzles
Author: David Wells
Publisher: Dover Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: Mathematical recreations
ISBN: 9780486443416

"Of immense interest to those who enjoy recreational maths and puzzles . . . even the most hardened puzzler will find something new." -- Mathematical Gazette Puzzles are as old as history itself, following an arc like that of technology: centuries of slow progress, followed by rapid expansion in the 1800s, and an explosion of activity in the twentieth century. This collection by bestselling author David Wells, a Cambridge math scholar and teacher, follows that pattern. Its first part is devoted to puzzles from ancient Egypt and Babylon and subsequent sources, featuring those devised by Lewis Carroll, Eduard Lucas, Sam Loyd, and other master puzzlers of the Victorian era. The second part demonstrates the tremendous variety of twentieth-century puzzles. More than 560 puzzles are included, from the "mind sharpeners" of a medieval monk to the eighteenth-century Ladies' Diary, the Hindu Bhakshali manuscript, and riddles and popular rhymes. None requires any mathematics beyond the most elementary algebra and geometry -- and few require even that. Complete answers appear at the end.

The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Geometry

The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Geometry
Author: David G. Wells
Publisher: Penguin Mass Market
Total Pages: 310
Release: 1991
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN:

"A companion volume to the author's "Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers", which focuses on arithmetic and number theory. The entries in this book cover curves, topology, tilings and all branches of plane and three-dimensional geometry, from Euclid to fractals."

What's the Point of Math?

What's the Point of Math?
Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2020-01-28
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0744020603

Math makes the world go around. An educational book that will give you surprising answers to everyday math challenges. This ebook unpacks how math is an essential part of our everyday life in ways that you never thought of. Full of crazy facts, magic tricks, and mathematical brainteasers and beautiful illustrations show you that math is interesting, fun, and not intimidating at all! Ever wondered where math originated from? This fantastic educational ebook unpacks all the curious questions that your child has about math including intriguing historical stories that explore the often-surprising origins of math that we use in our daily lives. Learn about how the formation of number sequences began, to the origins of trigonometry, and find out how to become a trillionaire! Math in our daily lives is used in many things that might not even seem that obvious. Math Controls Just About Everything Inspire your children with numbers and help bring mathematical explanations to life with this engaging educational book. Expand their knowledge in the complexity of understanding math by using simple illustrative examples. To make these topics more exciting and impactful, the ebook is full of great puzzles, awesome games, and interesting facts that will break barriers in their understanding. “Try it out” examples give mathematical explanations that are simple and easy to grasp. What’s The Point Of Math? will not only change your child’s perception of numbers but give them the skills and understanding to apply the principles in their everyday life! This educational ebook explains the point of: - Numbers and counting - Shapes and measuring - Patterns and sequences - Probability and logic - Data and statistics

Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities

Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
Author: Ian Stewart
Publisher: Profile Books
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2010-09-03
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1847651283

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 Poincaré 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...

Molly and the Mathematical Mysteries

Molly and the Mathematical Mysteries
Author: Eugenia Cheng
Publisher: Big Picture Press
Total Pages: 63
Release: 2021-03-30
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1536217107

Find the clues and lift the flaps on this mathematical mystery! Join Molly as she ventures into a curious world where nothing is quite as it seems. A trail of clues leads from scene to scene, presenting Molly with a number of challenges. But who is leaving the clues, and where will they lead? This interactive mystery shows math isn't just about numbers—it’s about imagination! An explorative and creative approach to the world of mathematics.

Journey Through Genius

Journey Through Genius
Author: William Dunham
Publisher: Penguin Books
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1991-08
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Like masterpieces of art, music, and literature, great mathematical theorems are creative milestones, works of genius destined to last forever. Now William Dunham gives them the attention they deserve. Dunham places each theorem within its historical context and explores the very human and often turbulent life of the creator — from Archimedes, the absentminded theoretician whose absorption in his work often precluded eating or bathing, to Gerolamo Cardano, the sixteenth-century mathematician whose accomplishments flourished despite a bizarre array of misadventures, to the paranoid genius of modern times, Georg Cantor. He also provides step-by-step proofs for the theorems, each easily accessible to readers with no more than a knowledge of high school mathematics. A rare combination of the historical, biographical, and mathematical, Journey Through Genius is a fascinating introduction to a neglected field of human creativity. “It is mathematics presented as a series of works of art; a fascinating lingering over individual examples of ingenuity and insight. It is mathematics by lightning flash.” —Isaac Asimov

Lewis Carroll in Numberland

Lewis Carroll in Numberland
Author: Robin Wilson
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2008-07-30
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0141920785

Lewis Carroll's books have delighted children and adults for generations, but behind their exuberant fantasy and delightful nonsense was the mind of a brilliant mathematician. Now his forgotten achievements in the world of numbers are brought to light by acclaimed author and mathematician Robin Wilson. Here he explores the curious imagination of a man whose pioneering work at Oxford University included investigations into voting patterns and tennis seeding, who dreamt up numerical conundrums in bed at night and who filled his writings with problems, paradoxes, puzzles and teasing games of logic. Taking us into a world of mock turtles and maps, gryphons and gravity, Lewis Carroll in Numberland reveals the singular mind of a genius.

536 Puzzles and Curious Problems

536 Puzzles and Curious Problems
Author: Henry E. Dudeney
Publisher: Courier Dover Publications
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2016-08-17
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0486796868

This compilation of long-inaccessible puzzles by a famous puzzle master offers challenges ranging from arithmetical and algebraical problems to those involving geometry, combinatorics, and topology, plus game, domino, and match puzzles. Includes answers.