The Art of Mathematics
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Book Overview
"Creative mathematicians seldom write for outsiders, but when they do, they usually do it well. Jerry King is no exception." -- Nature
"Touch es] the mathematical grandeur that the first geometers contemplated." -- Publishers Weekly
"Witty, trenchant, and provocative." -- Mathematical Association of America
A simple algebraic formula can reduce otherwise intelligent people to shamefaced confusion. Why are so many people so puzzled by mathematics? Clear, concise, and superbly written, this book reveals the beauty at the heart of mathematics -- and it makes that beauty accessible to everyone, demonstrating the humor of calculus, the sweetness in pi, and the poetry of numbers.
Mathematics professor and poet Jerry P. King writes with passion and wit of Euclid, Yeats, Poincar , and Rembrandt, drawing examples from axioms, paintings, and symphonies. The Art of Mathematics explores the difference between real, rational, and complex numbers; analyzes the intellectual underpinnings of pure and applied mathematics; and illustrates the fundamental connection between aesthetics and math. King also sheds light on how mathematicians pursue their research, and how our educational system perpetuates the imagined divisions between the "two cultures."
"Touch es] the mathematical grandeur that the first geometers contemplated." -- Publishers Weekly
"Witty, trenchant, and provocative." -- Mathematical Association of America
A simple algebraic formula can reduce otherwise intelligent people to shamefaced confusion. Why are so many people so puzzled by mathematics? Clear, concise, and superbly written, this book reveals the beauty at the heart of mathematics -- and it makes that beauty accessible to everyone, demonstrating the humor of calculus, the sweetness in pi, and the poetry of numbers.
Mathematics professor and poet Jerry P. King writes with passion and wit of Euclid, Yeats, Poincar , and Rembrandt, drawing examples from axioms, paintings, and symphonies. The Art of Mathematics explores the difference between real, rational, and complex numbers; analyzes the intellectual underpinnings of pure and applied mathematics; and illustrates the fundamental connection between aesthetics and math. King also sheds light on how mathematicians pursue their research, and how our educational system perpetuates the imagined divisions between the "two cultures."
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0486450201
ISBN13:9780486450209
Release Date:May 2006
Publisher:Dover Publications
Length:320 Pages
Weight:0.80 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
A wonderful perspective!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
This is really a wonderful book. It's one of the reasons I went to grad school.Dr. King really does a great job of explaining what math is really all about. His analogy to sculpture is perfect: If you want to appreciate a statue, you can't stand too close or too far away. Those in liberal arts are standing too far away from math to see it. Those in engineering and the sciences are standing too close -- they use pieces of math as tools but never see the beauty of mathematics.And I must respectfully disagree with Dr. Greenberg -- the Appel-Haken proof of the four color theorem really is a travesty. It's not a question of being ugly: it's invisible. It's not a proof at all -- it's an "argument from authority" and hence is inductive, not deductive.
A mathematician explains math beutifully to all.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
I happend to pick this book up by chance and enjoyed every page. I agreed with everything the author had to say. I suggest this book to anyone with ANY interest in Math. It is best suited for those trying to understand why other people enjoy/understand Mathematics so much
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