Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz
Making Light of Weighty Ideas
Will be published approx. on 17. October 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
290 pages
978-0-393-32931-5 (ISBN)
Description
A book for the eternally curious, Coincidences fuses a professor's understanding of the hidden mathematical skeleton of the universe with the sensibility of a stand-up comedian, making life's big questions accessible and compelling. Each chapter opens with a surprising insight-not a mathematic formula, but a common observation. From there, the authors leapfrog over math and anecdote toward profound ideas about nature, art, and music. Coincidences is a book for lovers of puzzles and posers of outlandish questions, lapsed math aficionados and the formula-phobic alike.
Reviews / Votes
"I once had a math teacher who used to throw books at us. If only this had been one of them." -- Ben Longstaff - New Scientist "Informative, intelligent, and refreshingly irreverent. A roller-coaster ride along the frontiers of today's mathematics, and anyone can climb on board. I enjoyed it immensely." -- Ian Stewart, author of FlatterlandMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
299 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-393-32931-5 (9780393329315)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edward B. Burger is professor of mathematics and chair at Williams College. He has won several prestigious teaching and writing awards from the Mathematical Association of America. He lives in Massachusetts. Michael Starbird is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and is a member of UT's Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He lives in Texas.