- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (July 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0465016189
- ISBN-13: 978-0465016181
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.3 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,260,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
For many, the mere word "mathematics" is enough to conjure up memories of incomprehension at school, and fear and loathing ever afterwards. Countless otherwise well-educated people see mathematics as the skeleton in their intellectual cupboard--the one key subject demanding a talent that they so obviously did not possess.
Or so it seems to anyone who has felt very much on the outside of the subject. British mathematician Keith Devlin is certainly on the inside--and in The Maths Gene he has wonderful news for everyone: we can all join him there. For Devlin argues that we all possess the ability to cope with mathematics, if only we recognise what's required. While a number of recent books, notably Stanislas Dehaene's The Number Sense, have focused on numerical ability, the scope of Devlin's book is much larger. He examines the evidence that we all possess, if not literally a gene, then at least an inherent ability not just for arithmetic but for real mathematics: algebra, calculus and the rest. Devlin even puts forward a Darwinian explanation for the origin of this ability, based on the idea that being able to handle abstract ideas and relationships confers key evolutionary advantages. Mathematics merely involves a relatively high level of abstraction--but one we can all cope with, if we work at it: "Doing mathematics is very much like running a marathon", says Devlin. "It does not require any special talent, and 'finishing' is largely a matter of wanting to succeed". In its wealth of wonderful examples supporting the central argument, The Maths Gene bears comparison with Steve Pinker's The Language Instinct and its plain common sense about this most misunderstood of subjects is truly inspirational. Thoroughly recommended for anyone seeking to rid their intellectual cupboard of the skeleton of mathematical "incompetence". --Robert Matthews --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Why is math so hard? And why, despite this difficulty, are some people so good at it? If there's some inborn capacity for mathematical thinking--which there must be, otherwise no one could do it --why can't we all do it well? Keith Devlin has answers to all these difficult questions, and in giving them shows us how mathematical ability evolved, why it's a part of language ability, and how we can make better use of this innate talent.He also offers a breathtakingly new theory of language development--that language evolved in two stages, and its main purpose was not communication--to show that the ability to think mathematically arose out of the same symbol-manipulating ability that was so crucial to the emergence of true language. Why, then, can't we do math as well as we can speak? The answer, says Devlin, is that we can and do--we just don't recognize when we're using mathematical reasoning.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
I HATED MATHEMATICS when I was in elementary school. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I HATED MATHEMATICS when I was in elementary school. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although Mr. Devlin makes a good case for his assertion that the development of pattern recognition and off-line thinking preceded the development of both a maths sense and language, being two different sides of the same coin, the book's power to convince is severely compromised by the sloppy nature of some of the examples cited in the book.
No - the proof of an infinite number prime numbers does not hinge on the fact that the product of all prime numbers to some assumed largest prime, N+1, is a prime, but rather that it is either a prime, or a composite of primes that are ALL greater than the assumed largest prime P.
No - Bird's wings did NOT evolve from heat-radiating "fins", but their isomorphic nature to other species' forelimbs makes their origin crystal clear.
The book is littered with howlers such as a statement that gene replication is somehow responsible for the appearance of gender in human language syntax - no explanation or justification is given for this statement, and I doubt that a convincing one could be devised.
Nonetheless, the main thesis of the book makes sense, and is delivered convincingly, but the book could have benefited greatly from a critical review before it was publicised.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a generally intersting book, and I remember that at the time of reading it I was bascially hooked on it and kept picking it back up again. I can't really empathise with anyone that found the group theory explanation difficult because I thought that it was extremely easy, but then at the time of reading the book I was actually revising for an exam in group theory amongst other subjects in maths. There are some well explained concepts in this book, (and I am thinking mainly of the scientific ones, not necessarily the mathematical ones), and it is one of those books that is fascinated with the thought experiments that can ensue from pondering on theories of evolution. Evolution is always a fun concept to start brainstorming over. Here it is about the evolution of our language and mathematical ability, and there was a theory put forward that mathematics is more or less synonymous with language.
I'm generally impressed with the book, and although I am not necessarily convinced of the central thesis, I thought that it was a very well written and interesting book. It is also exciting to read. To anyone that has a degree in maths or has read a lot of books on maths, quite a lot of the material will be recognisable as typical things to put in an introductory book. I would recommend this book though to anyone that knows nothing about maths really, (and when I say maths I mean real maths; what makes up the actual mathematical body that humans have developed; not the little arithmetical toys or tiny subsets of maths given in a very specific form in school or college), as it will probably clear up many fallaceous thoughts that you might have regarding mathematics and what mathematicians do.
I remember that there was one theory in particular that I thought an more elgant answer would be more likely for. This was concerning the statistical indication that Chinese people develop better mathematical skills relative to age when young compared to English speaking students. It is supposed that this is because of the counting system in China being such that the equivalent of say 'eleven' in Chinese would be 'one one' and 'fifty seven' would be 'five seven'. This could make arithmetic a little easier I suppose, but I thought it more obvious that the reason Chinese students are better at maths than English speaking students for example, is that the Chinese language is a lot more complex to learn and the grammar is more difficult than English grammar, and hence the Chinese children will have developed the kind of quickness as these sort of thinking abilities needed for arithmetic a lot more fully than English speaking students, (such as American or English).
Anyway, I would recommend this book for mathematicians if they are interested in evolution of language and of mathematics, and I would recommend it as a generally interesting non-fiction read. Its nice to hear fairly fresh theories such as the thesis of this book being proposed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This superb book details how we aquire our mathematics skills. It looks back at our ancestors to see how mathematics came about. Keith Devlin tries to prove that we all have the capability to 'do' mathematics but some of us find it difficult to access this ability. He goes on to explain how babies and animals have basic number skills too. Keith Devlin has written this book in an easy to understand fashion. He explains concepts clearly and assimilates them to everyday activities and experiences.
An excellent book for anyone studying mathematics or even those who are just interested in how we aquired our mathematical abilities!!
I suggest that the only way to truly test this book is to read it for yourself. I am sure the concepts he explains will keep you fascinated!!
An excellent book for anyone studying mathematics or even those who are just interested in how we aquired our mathematical abilities!!
I suggest that the only way to truly test this book is to read it for yourself. I am sure the concepts he explains will keep you fascinated!!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Keith Devlin: The Math Gene
I am still in the process of reading this book. There is a lot of fascinating material on the counting ability of infants and animals, brain function and evolution. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Woodwind player
Don't talk to me like that
To write a book in the first person, especially one that is non-fiction is both arrogant and opinionated, but to talk down to your readers is unforgivable. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2003 by Hazera Forth
Help Wanted
As a hobby reader of mathematics, I was really looking forward to this book. It started well - everything seemed pretty sensible and well grounded. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2002 by Marcus Carr
Gossip. Is this really it?
This is a book from a well-known and respected popular science writer, Professor Keith Devlin, on a very intriguing question: how and why did people acquire the skill of doing... Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2000 by Primoz Peterlin
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > Cognition & Cognitive Psychology > Language
- Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Philosophy of Mathematics
- Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Popular Maths
- Books > Science & Nature > Popular Science > Maths
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Philosophy
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Reference
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
