The Most Beautiful Mathematical Formulas

By Frédéric Testard, Coralie Salem, Lionel Salem

Book Overview

A lighthearted tour through 49 of the most interesting and useful mathematical formulas ever derived Now in paperback, this whimsical book reacquaints the reader with the pleasure of playing with numbers. Both entertaining and practical, it reaches a level of sophistication consistently high enough to make intelligent people think, but never aims so high that it is difficult to follow. Accompanying the formulas are over 70 amusing cartoons and diverting stories that point up how everyday events can lead to fundamental mathematical insights. * Features 49 short, inviting chapters, written in simple, clear language * Proves that math is fun, functional and accessible--not an arcane subject reserved for specialists LIONEL SALEM (Paris, France) is an internationally renowned theoretical chemist at the University of Paris, and has an appointment to the world famous French National Research Center. FREDERIC TESTARD (Nice, France) is a mathematician at the University of Nice. CORALIE SALEM (Paris, France) is an artist/illustrator who provided the book's graphics.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471552763
• ISBN13: 9780471552765
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 141 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Delightful read that flows easily.

This book covers a nice selection of math topics at the high school level. Some topics are unusual, meaning not covered in most first year College math, but are interesting and important topics. The authors' style is casual and the illustrations are informative but not childish. I am not even sure what it means to be childish as the ideas presented certainly are not childish. This book is meant for the curious general reader and does not have formal (often pedantic) mathematical proofs. I personally like the casual approach, as I got impatient with pages of epsilon delta proofs because mathematicians struggled with the concept of an infinitesimal in my first year calculus books. Why get lost in the forest before learning the beauty of trees? This is a good book and flows nicely. I liked this book and I found the art work very good too!

Beauty + Simplicity

Great book. It combines the simplicity of "where to find this formula in daily life", with comics, and a mathematical explanation. Like a gardener story to explain logarithms; or a history of 18th century to explain fractional numbers. It is an excellent gift to make that a kid love the simplicity of mathematics.-Un gran libro. Combina la simplicidad de "donde encontrar la f-rmula en la vida diaria", con comics y explicaciones matem‡ticas. Como la historia de un jardinero para explicar logaritmos; o una historia del siglo 18 para explicar numeros fraccionales. Es un regalo excelente para hacer que un ni-o ame la simplicidad de las matem‡ticas.

Excellent and whimsical look at the history of math

This is a wonderful book detailing some of the most important, and beautiful, discoveries in the history of mathematics. Each little story explains briefly, clearly, and simply everything from complex numbers to the Pythagorean Theorem. Brought to life through a light-hearted writing style the equations are made fun and interesting. Comical characters and perfectly eccentric illustrations accompany and enliven the text and give birth to humor in mathematics. Lionel Salem's writing, his daughter Coralie's illustrations, and the wonderful premise of the book combine to make for an entertaining piece of literature for everyone from those with no background in math to a PhD mathematician.This is an excellent book, especially for the layperson averse to or ambivalent toward mathematics. Give it to a friend, a member of the family, or maybe a struggling math student. This is a book which anyone and everyone can enjoy.