Arithmetic for the Practical Man

by J.E. Thompson

Arithmetic for the Practical Man [hardcover] Thompson, J E [Jan 01, 1931]… B000YBI19C

Genres: Mathematics

Hardcover

First published December 1, 1964

About the author

James Edgar Thompson

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the foreword, the author states that this book is designed to be used for self-study or as a refresher. To me, it is clear that it is far better used as the latter. Books for self-study need to have detailed explanations with many worked examples, something not found in abundance in this book. For example, the chapter that introduces logarithms, from the introduction of exponents in calculations to the exercises at the end, only covers ten pages. The use of logarithms in performing multiplication and division consumes another ten pages before the topic is switched to ratio and proportion.
The coverage is thorough in breadth in terms of what is considered computational mathematics. Approximating calculations, once so important when things had to be done quickly, is the topic of an entire chapter. In addition to the basics of arithmetic, there are chapters on measurements, temperature and angle measure, latitude and longitude, the properties of plane figures, graphs, and the properties of basic three-dimensional objects.
This is a book that gives the reader a look back to the days before calculators, when computing required a fundamental understanding of the properties of the operations and not just knowing the sequence of buttons to press.

[BorMay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sweet and kind book, I would say that it is one of the best to start learning basic arithmetic/mathematics. Of course you also have to do more research on certain things, more than anything, certain terms, it's not just the work of the book. Recommended for practical men.

[Divyam · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is fun

[Calvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fine book, but I guess not for me since it's too bare.

[Carol Collins]

1946

[Jason Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Provides the reader with a gentle introduction to the concepts underpinning arithmetic, along with the various processes of carrying it out.

[Mohammad Tanviruzzaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used it as a quick review. I was familiar with most of it. The language, naturally, is a bit archaic. Since it is arithmetic and it did not have the advantage of compact symbolism, it is quite wordy.
Few things were interesting to review:
1. Reminder that all measurements are inaccurate and we need to handle associated uncertainties as we combine measurements.
2. We can write a repeated decimal as a ratio between two integers, because of the underlying infinite geometric series that each repeated decimal has.
3. How latitude and longitude allow us to specify a location on the earth and how the difference in longitudes between two places translates into the time difference between them.
4. A figure based short proof of Pythagoras's theorem.
5. A figure based proof why a regular right pyramid's volume is 1/3 of (height * base_area). Then using the formula for the pyramid's volume, derive the formula for the volume of a sphere (assuming we know the formula of the surface area of the sphere).
6. How looking at a number we could quickly say it is divisible by 11.
7. A geometric method to determine the answer to: If A takes 6 days to do a job and B takes 4 days to do that same job, how many days would it take for them together to finish the same job? - assuming zero contention and they work incessantly.

I took some notes to review quicker in the future: https://github.com/tanv1r/math/blob/m...