The Puzzling Adventures of Dr. Ecco

by Dennis E. Shasha

Book Overview

Dr. Ecco is a mathematical detective and puzzle solver. In this book readers are invited to join him in solving nearly 40 puzzles inspired by methods in computer science and mathematics, including The Tower of Lego, the Odd Doors Problem, Spies and Double Agents, Gossiping Defenders, Code Breaking, and many more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486296156
• ISBN13: 9780486296159
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

fun with puzzles

I bought The Puzzling Adventures of Dr. Ecco just before going on vacation, and was hooked before the plane took off. It is the perfect book for puzzle-lovers, including a broad range of topics across many levels of difficulty. My husband and I sat long after our lunches had been cleared on several occasions, working them out together. The author's humor and imagination in creating his characters adds to the delight of having one's brain teased (and then satisfied -- the solutions are in the back). Buy this book!

Dr. Ecco --- A Mathematical Version of Sherlock Holmes

When this book first came out from W. H. Freeman, I could not contain my excitement. I had been trying to intoduce a course in matheamtics that would have a broad appeal. With a very few exceptions, university students take mathematics courses because they are told to do so, and will leave the subject behind as soon as the minimum requirement is meet. I wanted students to have a chance to explore mathematics, but was hard pressed to put together a functional package."The Puzzling Adventure of Dr. Ecco" was an answer to my prayers. Discrete mathematics is an ideal introductio to the borader realm of the whole subject since it requires very little technical background, and there is the additional attraction in being related to computing science. However, there was considerable opposition to the introduction of such a course, and it was not until five years later that it became a pilot project. Dennis' credibility as a serious researcher helped tremendously in the final push.Once the course got going, there was no stoppig it.Enrollment went up from 24 in the initial year to over 150 at present, while the course is still the only one not required by any program. It draws students from diverse background, from the Faculties of Science, Education, Arts, Business, Engineering and Pharmocology.Much of the success of the course is due to the top quality of the book. The problems are well chosen, with a variety of topics as well as levels of difficulty. However, it is how each problem is treated that brings out how much thought has gone into the writing.I will give one example, the problem of transporting oil from Houston to Moscow. The theoretical foundation is the Maxi-Flow Mini-Cut Theorem, which provides an algorithm to compute the maximal flow. Usuaully, students ignore the minimum cut altogether because the theorem guarantees that the flow they find will be maximal. Here, Dr. Ecco is asked where additional planes should be added. If none is added to the routes that constitute the minimal cut, they will be wasted. Thus the companion idea of the minimal cut is clearly brought back to center stage.The book is written with a great sense of humour, with much commentary on comtemporary society. It has been said that from the many volumes of detective fictions Agatha Christie had written, future social scientists could find invaluable data. This book reflects the thinking of one segment of the intelligentia at the time.As a final note, the University of Alberta has published a companion volume titled "Professor Scarlet's Notebook", which serves as a background textbook but specifically tailored for use with Dr. Ecco. It is available for US$10 from: Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G2G1, Canada. Andy Liu, 1998 Canadian University Professor of the Year, and

unique puzzle book with computer-science-inspired problems

What I really like about this book is its unique focus; Shasha has written problems that illustrate concepts from math and computer science, without requiring any prior background. It's written in an entertaining style, the problems can be understood and enjoyably worked on by everyone from bright middle school students to graduate students -- and even if you have a lot of other puzzle books, many of these problems will be new to you.My only complaint is that there aren't more puzzles here! The Dr. Ecco story-line is nicely written, and the puzzles are presented cleverly, but all that creative writing takes up a lot of space. Still, this is a small issue, I enjoyed reading the book, I loved the puzzles, and they are very easy to share with friends and students.And of course, Dover offers it at a great price!

A Combination of Puzzles and Operations Research

This walk on the puzzle side of life is a joyous jaunt through mathematics. The fictional Dr. Ecco, a dedicated omniheurist or puzzle solver, devotes his life to resolving the difficulties of others. The majority of the problems are in applied mathematics, and are typical of the real world. Professor Scarlet provides the narration and his serving as a foil to Dr. Ecco has much in common with the partnership of Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes. The topics include coding, the flow of goods through transit points, production bottlenecks, road and mass transit construction, information transfer and conducting elections. Detailed solutions to all problems are given at the end of the book. The majority can be solved using only cleverness, although a mathematical background is certainly helpful. Superbly narrated and with a tight grasp on life, this book is an existence proof of the premise that learning mathematics can be fun. An excellent supplemental text for any course that involves problems in operations research.Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission

Exciting and challenging puzzle book

This book is really fun. I am a person who really enjoys this kind of books, but this one was one of the best. I loved it!!