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The Colossal Book of Mathematics Martin Gardner

The Colossal Book of Mathematics By Martin Gardner

The Colossal Book of Mathematics by Martin Gardner


$79.99
Condition - Very Good
8 in stock

Summary

No amateur or math authority can be without this ultimate compendium from America's best-loved mathematical expert.

The Colossal Book of Mathematics Summary

The Colossal Book of Mathematics: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems by Martin Gardner

Whether discussing hexaflexagons or number theory, Klein bottles or the essence of nothing, Martin Gardner has single-handedly created the field of recreational mathematics. The Colossal Book of Mathematics collects together Gardner's most popular pieces from his legendary Mathematical Games column, which ran in Scientific American for twenty-five years. Gardner's array of absorbing puzzles and mind-twisting paradoxes opens mathematics up to the world at large, inspiring people to see past numbers and formulas and experience the application of mathematical principles to the mysterious world around them. With articles on topics ranging from simple algebra to the twisting surfaces of Mobius strips, from an endless game of Bulgarian solitaire to the unreachable dream of time travel, this volume comprises a substantial and definitive monument to Gardner's influence on mathematics, science, and culture.

In its twelve sections, The Colossal Book of Math explores a wide range of areas, each startlingly illuminated by Gardner's incisive expertise. Beginning with seemingly simple topics, Gardner expertly guides us through complicated and wondrous worlds: by way of basic algebra we contemplate the mesmerizing, often hilarious, linguistic and numerical possibilities of palindromes; using simple geometry, he dissects the principles of symmetry upon which the renowned mathematical artist M. C. Escher constructs his unique, dizzying universe. Gardner, like few thinkers today, melds a rigorous scientific skepticism with a profound artistic and imaginative impulse. His stunning exploration of The Church of the Fourth Dimension, for example, bridges the disparate worlds of religion and science by brilliantly imagining the spatial possibility of God's presence in the world as a fourth dimension, at once everywhere and nowhere.

With boundless wisdom and his trademark wit, Gardner allows the reader to further engage challenging topics like probability and game theory which have plagued clever gamblers, and famous mathematicians, for centuries. Whether debunking Pascal's wager with basic probability, making visual music with fractals, or uncoiling a knotted doughnut with introductory topology, Gardner continuously displays his fierce intelligence and gentle humor. His articles confront both the comfortingly mundane-Generalized Ticktacktoe and Sprouts and Brussel Sprouts-and the quakingly abstract-Hexaflexagons, Nothing, and Everything. He navigates these staggeringly obscure topics with a deft intelligence and, with addendums and suggested reading lists, he informs these classic articles with new insight.

Admired by scientists and mathematicians, writers and readers alike, Gardner's vast knowledge and burning curiosity reveal themselves on every page. The culmination of a lifelong devotion to the wonders of mathematics, The Colossal Book of Mathematics is the largest and most comprehensive math book ever assembled by Gardner and remains an indispensable volume for the amateur and expert alike.

The Colossal Book of Mathematics Reviews

For more than half a century, Martin Gardner has been the single brightest beacon defending rationality and good science. . . . He is also one of the most brilliant men and gracious writers I have known. -- Stephen Jay Gould

About Martin Gardner

Martin Gardner (1914-2010) is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on Lewis Carroll and his work. The author of more than a hundred books, he wrote the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American for twenty-five years and has been hailed by Douglas Hofstadter as one of the great intellects produced in this country in this century.

Additional information

GOR003937996
9780393020236
0393020231
The Colossal Book of Mathematics: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems by Martin Gardner
Used - Very Good
Hardback
WW Norton & Co
20040120
736
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - The Colossal Book of Mathematics