Mathematics for the Curious

by Peter M. Higgins

Book Overview

When do the hands of a clock coincide? How likely is it that two children in the same class will share a birthday? How do we calculate the volume of a doughnut? Mathematics for the Curious provides anyone interested in mathematics with a simple and entertaining account of what it can do.
Author Peter Higgins gives clear explanations of the more mysterious features of childhood mathematics as well as novelties and connections that prove that mathematics...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192880721
• ISBN13: 9780192880727
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Easy reading; and good material

I thoroughly enjoy books of the kind that Peter M. Higgins has provided here.....my thanks to this author! It's a "grabber", for those who like to cover a wide subject territory while encountering intriguing puzzles you want to solve by yourself, before seeing the answers!

Nice book

I'm finishing up my master's degree and on my way to teaching math. No easy task since most folks are afraid of math and are convinced that it is both uninteresting and certainly not very useful. Higgins provides many interesting puzzles for such people. I enjoyed reading this as it has helped me prepare some fun things for my students to work on. One thing I have found, is that the math that I find cool is not going to fly in a class room (I'm into algebraic topology). So its an ongoing program of self study to learn how to make math fun for the uninitiated. This book along with such books as Martin Gardners and such have begun to provide the means. The book is well written, well organized and always interesting. I cannot say how accessible it is, at least not objectively. I find it very easy to read and he explains everything, but then again I ought to find it easy to read.