The Universal Book of Mathematics: From Abracadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes

by David Darling

Book Overview

Praise for David Darling

The Universal Book of Astronomy

"A first-rate resource for readers and students of popular astronomy and general science. . . . Highly recommended."
-Library Journal

"A comprehensive survey and . . . a rare treat."
-Focus

The Complete Book of Spaceflight

"Darling's content and presentation will have any reader moving from entry to entry."
-The Observatory magazine

Life Everywhere...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471270474
• ISBN13: 9780471270478
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Wiley (TP)
• Length: 383 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.7" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

The Lighter Side of Mathematics

This encyclopedia of mathematics was quite worthwhile to read nevertheless.I expected an in-depth review of various famous math formulas and procedures for calculating numbers and short stories about the people who created them.Most of the items listed were interesting to read about.Yet,some were just trivial in nature.Based upon the glowing reviews,i felt compelled to investigate this book further.For the serious math student,this book is more crust than bread.For a book entitled,'Universal',it's fairly enclusive to the British and German mathematicians only. Now,puzzlers and ratzlers may be entertained by the charming entries within and even given the impetus to advance their research into weightier mathematic descriptions.However,this book only appears on the 'heavyside',not really enriching enough to nurture a sprouting engineer into fructation.A better title would simply be,"A Short History of Popular Mathematics and Puzzles".

Recreational Mathematics ...exercise and enjoyment for the mind.

I have had an interest in Recreational Mathematics ever since my High School days; at least 55 years ago. I can still remember constructing a 15 Puzzle using a block of wood and my mother's wooden yardstick,with numbers pasted on from a calendar.Then there was the cardboard set of Tangrams I made after reading about them in a book.The next thing I can recall was Magic Squares and learning how to solve any odd-number.I was then nearly driven to distraction trying to find the "secret" to solving even- numbered Magic Squares. In High School,after encountering Logrithms for the first time,I couldn't get enough of them.I was talking to my Math teacher one day after school,telling him how fascinating I found them. He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a Slide Rule.He asked me if I knew what it was. I had never seen or heard of one. He showed me how it was based on Logrithims and could be used to multiply,divide ,etc. Then he handed me a little booklet and sent me packing with it and the slide rule. It was the most fascinating thing I'd ever seen and almost as much fun as girls and shooting pool.I guess my love for puzzles and such was what led me into pursuing college and eventually becoming an Engineer. All through the years,I've retained this interest in Puzzles and Recreational Mathematics. I started to acquire books on the subject,and once reading about Sam Loyd and the "Cyclopedia of Puzzles" ,I couldn't contain myself until I could at least see it and maybe even acquire a copy.It was published in 1914,and included over 5,000 puzzles,tricks,conundrums,riddles,etc.,of which about 1'000 are illustrated.Solutions are printed in the last pages.However,a number of puzzles were selected as "Prize Puzzles" and the solutions were withheld.A prize of $100 would be awarded to the person who sent in the best set of correct answers before January,1915.Because of errors,multiple solutions,impossible solutions,etc., it was impossible to determine a winner. It was quite a story!.After much effort,I finally got myself a copy and without doubt it is my prized puzzle book possession. I have never seen another copy,but it is sometimes shown in other puzzle books. I believe it has been reprinted ,and a condensed version was also published. Over the years,I have added many Math and Puzzle books to my library and now have about 600. I go through all this ,just to show you how much I think of this new book by David Darling. I don't know whether it should be called a Dictionary,an Encyclopedia, (it's not a "Cyclopedia" as Sam Loyd called his),a Compendium, or what. It is all those things and much more.But not to worry,Darling had to call it something and I guess his title is as good as any. It is a basic reference book dealing with all kinds of things,people ,definitions,theories,puzzles,terms, and Recreational mathematics. If you are reading about anything or anybody in these areas and want to know more;this will be the book to turn to to get started.

It is on my essential reference shelf

I enjoy reading mathematical dictionaries. Whether I read it from cover to cover or scattershot style, I always learn something new. In this dictionary, I learned about the "Seventeen or Bust" distributed computing project, where the goal of the project is to check the remaining seventeen possibilities to be the smallest Sierpinski number. I also was reminded of many other mathematical facts that I have encountered sometime in the past. The manuscripts that I receive as co-editor of Journal of Recreational Mathematics contain a wide variety of mathematical ideas. To handle them all, it is necessary to keep a mathematical dictionary handy. Since this book is well written and has over 1,800 entries, I have placed it on my essential reference shelf. Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Everything you wanted to know about mathematics and far more

From over 300 references, David Darling has compiled what I, a non-mathematician, consider to be an excellent encyclopedia of mathematics. There are over 1800 entries. There are simple definitions, more in-depth explanations, graphs and many photos. He illustrates well the application and appearance of many abstract mathematical concepts in the real world of art, architecture, etc. In addition to the hundreds of 'pure' mathematical references, he also includes many entries that are fun for everyone. These entries include puzzles, games and tricks. I enjoyed the background and historical information included in the biographies of the many mathematicians covered. Historical information about concepts and values, e.g. pi, is also included, such as the time Indiana almost voted to round pi off to 3.2! This book would be an excellent library builder. It is hard to read straight through - I tried it and failed - but as reference and reading here and there it is great. It is good enough that I want to find his other references and check them out as well.