Tribute to a Mathemagician

Tribute to a Mathemagician
Author: Barry Cipra
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2004-11-10
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1439864799

The tradition of a publication based on the Gathering for Gardner continues with this new carefully selected and edited collection in which Martin Gardner and friends inspire and entertain. The contributors to this volume---virtually a list of Who's Who in the World of Puzzles---trace their inspiration to Martin Gardner's puzzle column in Scientifi

The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler

The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler
Author: Elwyn R. Berlekamp
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 1999-03-08
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1439863849

This volume comprises an imaginative collection of pieces created in tribute to Martin Gardner. Perhaps best known for writing Scientific American's "Mathematical Games" column for years, Gardner used his personal exuberance and fascination with puzzles and magic to entice a wide range of readers into a world of mathematical discovery. This tribute

Geometric Folding Algorithms

Geometric Folding Algorithms
Author: Erik D. Demaine
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2007-07-16
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1107394090

Did you know that any straight-line drawing on paper can be folded so that the complete drawing can be cut out with one straight scissors cut? That there is a planar linkage that can trace out any algebraic curve, or even 'sign your name'? Or that a 'Latin cross' unfolding of a cube can be refolded to 23 different convex polyhedra? Over the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in such problems, with applications ranging from robotics to protein folding. With an emphasis on algorithmic or computational aspects, this treatment gives hundreds of results and over 60 unsolved 'open problems' to inspire further research. The authors cover one-dimensional (1D) objects (linkages), 2D objects (paper), and 3D objects (polyhedra). Aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics or computer science, this lavishly illustrated book will fascinate a broad audience, from school students to researchers.

A Lifetime of Puzzles

A Lifetime of Puzzles
Author: Erik D. Demaine
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2008-10-28
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 143986571X

Martin Gardner has entertained the world with his puzzles for decades and inspired countless mathematicians and scientists. As he rounds out another decade, his colleagues are paying him tribute with this special collection that contains contributions from some of the most respected puzzlemasters, magicians and mathematicians, including: - John H. Conway - William R. Gosper - Ed Pegg, Jr. - Roger Penrose - Raymond Smullyan - Peter Winkler. And of course there is something from the original puzzlemaster himself, Martin Gardner.

The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth
Author: Norton Juster
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 274
Release: 1988-10-12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0394820371

With almost 5 million copies sold 60 years after its original publication, generations of readers have now journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic. Enriched by Jules Feiffer’s splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster’s offbeat fantasy are as beguiling as ever. “Comes up bright and new every time I read it . . . it will continue to charm and delight for a very long time yet. And teach us some wisdom, too.” --Phillip Pullman For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason. Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams!

Mathematical Puzzles

Mathematical Puzzles
Author: Peter Winkler
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2021-01-21
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0429557973

Research in mathematics is much more than solving puzzles, but most people will agree that solving puzzles is not just fun: it helps focus the mind and increases one's armory of techniques for doing mathematics. Mathematical Puzzles makes this connection explicit by isolating important mathematical methods, then using them to solve puzzles and prove a theorem. Features A collection of the world’s best mathematical puzzles Each chapter features a technique for solving mathematical puzzles, examples, and finally a genuine theorem of mathematics that features that technique in its proof Puzzles that are entertaining, mystifying, paradoxical, and satisfying; they are not just exercises or contest problems.

The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets

The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
Author: Simon Singh
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1408835304

From bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem, a must-have for number lovers and Simpsons fans

Genius at Play

Genius at Play
Author: Siobhan Roberts
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2024-10-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0691267510

A multifaceted biography of a brilliant mathematician and iconoclast A mathematician unlike any other, John Horton Conway (1937–2020) possessed a rock star’s charisma, a polymath’s promiscuous curiosity, and a sly sense of humor. Conway found fame as a barefoot professor at Cambridge, where he discovered the Conway groups in mathematical symmetry and the aptly named surreal numbers. He also invented the cult classic Game of Life, a cellular automaton that demonstrates how simplicity generates complexity—and provides an analogy for mathematics and the entire universe. Moving to Princeton in 1987, Conway used ropes, dice, pennies, coat hangers, and the occasional Slinky to illustrate his winning imagination and share his nerdish delights. Genius at Play tells the story of this ambassador-at-large for the beauties and joys of mathematics, lays bare Conway’s personal and professional idiosyncrasies, and offers an intimate look into the mind of one of the twentieth century’s most endearing and original intellectuals.

A Plethora of Polyhedra in Origami

A Plethora of Polyhedra in Origami
Author: John Montroll
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN: 9780486422718

Step-by-step instructions and 970 clear diagrams show beginning and experienced paperfolders how to create 27 amazing polyhedra from one sheet of paper. Graded according to difficulty, the projects range from a simple cube, tetrahedron and octahedron to a challenging rhombic dodecahedron, sunken icosahedron, and an antidiamond with pentagonal base.

What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences

What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences
Author: Barry Cipra
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 108
Release:
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780821890431

Mathematicians like to point out that mathematics is universal. In spite of this, most people continue to view it as either mundane (balancing a checkbook) or mysterious (cryptography). This fifth volume of the What's Happening series contradicts that view by showing that mathematics is indeed found everywhere-in science, art, history, and our everyday lives. Here is some of what you'll find in this volume: Mathematics and Science Mathematical biology: Mathematics was key tocracking the genetic code. Now, new mathematics is needed to understand the three-dimensional structure of the proteins produced from that code. Celestial mechanics and cosmology: New methods have revealed a multitude of solutions to the three-body problem. And other new work may answer one of cosmology'smost fundamental questions: What is the size and shape of the universe? Mathematics and Everyday Life Traffic jams: New models are helping researchers understand where traffic jams come from-and maybe what to do about them! Small worlds: Researchers have found a short distance from theory to applications in the study of small world networks. Elegance in Mathematics Beyond Fermat's Last Theorem: Number theorists are reaching higher ground after Wiles' astounding 1994 proof: new developments inthe elegant world of elliptic curves and modular functions. The Millennium Prize Problems: The Clay Mathematics Institute has offered a million dollars for solutions to seven important and difficult unsolved problems. These are just some of the topics of current interest that are covered in thislatest volume of What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences. The book has broad appeal for a wide spectrum of mathematicians and scientists, from high school students through advanced-level graduates and researchers.