In this retitled and revised edition of The Problems of Mathematics, renowned mathematician Ian Stewart gives math buffs and non-technical readers-as well as students of the subject-the perfect guide to today's mathematics. This challenging and fascinating book includes three new chapters that cover the most recent developments in the mathematics field, including one on Kepler's sphere-packing problem, to which a solution has been at last announced after a wait of 380 years.Stewart, a particularly gifted mathematician and writer, shows us not only that math can be explained in everyday language, but that it can be downright fun as well. Puzzle solvers especially will delight in accounts of puzzles like Fermat's famous theorem, manifolds (a kind of mathematical origami in many dimensions), and the patterns in chaos. And what reader wouldn't want probability theory explained by demonstrating how to maximize one's lottery winnings? According to From Here to Infinity, good mathematics has an air of economy and an element of surprise. One could easily make the same claim for this instructive, amusing, and sometimes mind-boggling book.
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"Maths can be fun! What's more, as Ian Stewart shows, it can be explained in everyday language ... it is such a surprise to find mathematics being made so accessible." -- Good Book Guide
"an excellent account of what's going on in mathematics right now" -- Guardian
"an excellent account of what's going on in mathematics right now" -- Guardian
About the Author
Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at Warwick University in England. His many books include Does God Play Dice? , The collapse of Chaos (with Jack Cohen), Game, Set and Math, and Fearful Symmetry: Is God a Geometer? (with Martin Golubitsky). He contributed to a wide range of newspapers and magazines, and writes the "Mathematical Recreations" column of Scientific American.
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One of the biggest problems of mathematics is to explain to everyone else what is all about. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
One of the biggest problems of mathematics is to explain to everyone else what is all about. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By D. J. Wilson
Format:Paperback
A Brilliant introduction to everything that is modern about mathematics and includes all the latest developments including proofs of the famous Fermat's Last Theorem and the Four-Colour problem. Readers familiar with Ian Stewart will be unsurprised to find his clear, concise and humourous approach to Maths and his great enthusiasm for the subject is portrayed through this book. A great read and brilliant for those who want a readable, accurate yet not too technical account of the latest developmnents in Mathematics.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I read this book last year - at the tender age of 17. When I bought it, I presumed it to be pretty much the same type of book as Eli Maor's 'To Infinity and beyond' - but it wasn't. To be able to read and understand this book, you need to be a capable mathematician - or be willing to let large chunks of it pass over your head - as I did.
Having said this, there are plenty of interesting topics covered in the book - and it opens your eyes to lots of new areas in maths which you never knew even existed. If you're a budding mathematician then you must read this book - though I'd leave it until you're at university.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Jonesey
Format:Paperback
This book attempts to cover every major topic and discovery in mathematics up to the modern day. As a result this book has had 3 editions, each one significantly different to keep up with the times. Each chapter (in general) covers a distinct field of mathematics and covers, essentially, the history of that field up to now.
I just finished mathematics at A-level and I have found this book taxing but still enjoyable none the less. I began to lose track towards the end of some of the chapters because the book appeared to rush through the explanations due to the shear volume of information it was trying to get across. Despite this, the majority of the book is clear and concise with relevant images and diagrams which helps.
I just finished mathematics at A-level and I have found this book taxing but still enjoyable none the less. I began to lose track towards the end of some of the chapters because the book appeared to rush through the explanations due to the shear volume of information it was trying to get across. Despite this, the majority of the book is clear and concise with relevant images and diagrams which helps.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
a student's perspective
Although I am an extremely capable mathematician for my age, having done my GCSE and A levels early and currently finishing my last chunk of further maths, I found this book... Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2006 by Alyssa Parkinson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not what it's sold as.
This book is paraded as an accessible guide to todays mathematics. Unfortunately, this description is mainly incorrect. Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2005 by "fluff_eei"
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