Название: The Enjoyment of Math
Автор: Hans Rademacher, Otto Toeplitz
Издательство: Princeton University Press
Год: 2023
Страниц: 216
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true)
Размер: 32.1 MB

The classic book that shares the enjoyment of mathematics with readers of all skill levels.

What is so special about the number 30? Do the prime numbers go on forever? Are there more whole numbers than even numbers? The Enjoyment of Math explores these and other captivating problems and puzzles, introducing readers to some of the most fundamental ideas in mathematics. Written by two eminent mathematicians and requiring only a background in plane geometry and elementary algebra, this delightful book covers topics such as the theory of sets, the four-color problem, regular polyhedrons, Euler’s proof of the infinitude of prime numbers, and curves of constant breadth. Along the way, it discusses the history behind the problems, carefully explaining how each has arisen and, in some cases, how to resolve it. With an incisive foreword by Alex Kontorovich, this Princeton Science Library edition shares the enjoyment of math with a new generation of readers.

The art form of mathematics is well-known to have a marketing problem. The great German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss famously said, “Mathematics is the queen of science.” And yet this queen, directly responsible for much of our modern existence and all its extranatural comforts, is greatly underappreciated, if not outright despised, by most of the educated public. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who have told me, “I hate math.” Upon further prodding, they’ll admit that in fact they loved math up to Subject X (where X might be calculus, or trigonometry, or algebra, or what ever), and then Subject X + 1 was the worst and they’ve hated math ever since. (Upon even further prodding, it turns out they really hated their teacher in Subject X + 1, hence never learning it properly, and every thing thereafter was gobbledygook. Many of them also admit that as adults, they love struggling to solve difficult puzzles like Sudoku, KenKen, and so forth).