The Best Writing on Mathematics 2012

Foreword: The Synergy of Pure and Applied Mathematics, of the Abstract and the Concrete
David Mumford ix
Introduction
Mircea Pitici xvii
Why Math Works
Mario Livio 1
Is Mathematics Discovered or Invented?
Timothy Gowers 8
The Unplanned Impact of Mathematics
Peter Rowlett 21
An Adventure in the Nth Dimension
Brian Hayes 30
Structure and Randomness in the Prime Numbers
Terence Tao 43
The Strangest Numbers in String Theory
John C. Baez and John Huerta 50
Mathematics Meets Photography: The Viewable Sphere
David Swart and Bruce Torrence 61
Dancing Mathematics and the Mathematics of Dance
Sarah-Marie Belcastro and Karl Schaffer 79
Can One Hear the Sound of a Theorem?
Rob Schneiderman 93
Flat-Unfoldability and Woven Origami Tessellations
Robert J. Lang 113
A Continuous Path from High School Calculus to University Analysis
Timothy Gowers 129
Mathematics Teachers' Subtle, Complex Disciplinary Knowledge
Brent Davis 135
How to Be a Good Teacher Is an Undecidable Problem
Erica Flapan 141
How Your Philosophy of Mathematics Impacts Your Teaching
Bonnie Gold 149
Variables in Mathematics Education
Susanna S. Epp 163
Bottom Line on Mathematics Education
David Mumford and Sol Garfunkel 173
History of Mathematics and History of Science Reunited?
Jeremy Gray 176
Augustus De Morgan behind the Scenes
Charlotte Simmons 186
Routing Problems: A Historical Perspective
Giuseppe Bruno, Andrea Genovese, and Gennaro Improta 197
The Cycloid and Jean Bernoulli
Gerald L. Alexanderson 209
Was Cantor Surprised?
Fernando Q. Gouvêa 216
Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics at All?
Ian Hacking 234
Ultimate Logic: To Infinity and Beyond
Richard Elwes 255
Mating, Dating, and Mathematics: It's All in the Game
Mark Colyvan 262
Contributors 273
Notable Texts 281
Acknowledgments 285
Credits 287