Mathematicians Don't Work With Numbers
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Beschreibung
This book answers, in the form of short and entertaining vignettes, the question: "What do mathematicians really do?" Readers will learn that mathematicians use numbers in the same way that novelists use letters. The individual letters are typed while the author thinks on a much grander scale, invisible to the observer.
Requiring only familiarity with the multiplication table (and that for only one vignette), the book makes accessible a variety of mathematical concepts, such as game theory, chaos, and, as the author puts it, the c******* of variations. The author accomplishes this with a light, engaging style, and a range of real-world examples that includes everything from barbershops to President James Garfield.
Mathematicians Don't Work With Numbers will be of interest to the large audience of people who have always assumed that mathematicians do, in fact, work with numbers.
This book answers, in the form of short and entertaining vignettes, the question: "What do mathematicians really do?" Readers will learn that mathematicians use numbers in the same way that novelists use letters. The individual letters are typed while the author thinks on a much grander scale, invisible to the observer.
Requiring only familiarity with the multiplication table (and that for only one vignette), the book makes accessible a variety of mathematical concepts, such as game theory, chaos, and traffic flow modelling. The author accomplishes this with a light, engaging style, and a range of real-world examples that includes everything from barbershops to President James Garfield.
Mathematicians Don't Work With Numbers will be of interest to the large audience of people who have always assumed that mathematicians do, in fact, work with numbers.
Explores what mathematics is really about in the form of short and entertaining vignettes Covers a broad range of mathematical topics with a light and often humorous style Illustrates concepts using real-world examples, ranging from barbershops to President James Garfield
Autor*in
Richard Poulo
Themen in »Mathematicians Don't Work With Numbers«
Mathematics introduction Popular science Mathematics general interest Math philosophy Accessible mathematics Game theory Cryptology Graph theory Group theory Konigsberg Bridge problem Military science Srinivasa Ramanujan Chaos theory Butterfly effect math Topology
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“The book ‘Mathematicians don’t work with numbers’ is an agile and engaging introduction to different branches of mathematics, from public key encryption to chaotic models, from proof techniques to aesthetics in mathematics. ... Each chapter is a little piece added to the reality’s understanding. The non-expert reader can enjoy jargon-free chapters, while the more expert reader can appreciate the way to present the topics, along with their precision." (Maria Mannone, zbMATH 1553.00001, 2025)
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