The Best Writing on Mathematics 2010
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- €20.99
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- €20.99
Publisher Description
The year’s most memorable writing on mathematics
This anthology brings together the year's finest writing on mathematics from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in mathematics, The Best Writing on Mathematics makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else—and you don't need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today's hottest mathematical debates. Here readers will discover why Freeman Dyson thinks some mathematicians are birds while others are frogs; why Keith Devlin believes there's more to mathematics than proof; what Nick Paumgarten has to say about the timing patterns of New York City's traffic lights (and why jaywalking is the most mathematically efficient way to cross Sixty-sixth Street); what Samuel Arbesman can tell us about the epidemiology of the undead in zombie flicks; and much, much more.
In addition to presenting the year's most memorable writing on mathematics, this must-have anthology also includes a foreword by esteemed mathematician William Thurston and an informative introduction by Mircea Pitici. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us—and where it's headed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pitici, who teaches math and writing at Cornell University edits his fifth consecutive edition of the year's best writing in mathematics, opening with a tone-setting essay that convincingly argues, via the philosophy of John Dewey, that mathematics, like art, is intrinsically a valuable human endeavor. The following essays cover a broad swath of mathematics that include entertaining puzzles, complicated proofs, pedagogical philosophy, and technical discussions of mathematical problems. The pedagogical entries are both serious and light: one discusses using food to demonstrate concepts from pre-calculus to calculus and beyond, while another, on the concept of "grace" as an element of teaching, is quite moving. For readers interested in rigorous mathematics there are plenty of challenges. One piece begins "A Klein Bottle is a closed single-sided mathematical service of the genus 2," and then explores the concept for 20 pages. There are several timely articles on big data what it is, the surprising ways it can be used, its role in designing language translation programs, and how it might be abused. Many of the technical articles are difficult and demand a mathematical background, other entries are well suited for readers more casual readers; the volume is intended to capture both audiences and does it well.
