Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, & Other Mathematical Explorations

by Keith Ball

How does mathematics enable us to send pictures from space back to Earth? Where does the bell-shaped curve come from? Why do you need only 23 people in a room for a 50/50 chance of two of them sharing the same birthday? In Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, and Other Mathematical Explorations , Keith Ball highlights how ideas, mostly from pure math, can answer these questions and many more. Drawing on areas of mathematics from probability theory, number theory, and geometry, he explores a wide range of concepts, some more light-hearted, others central to the development of the field and used daily by mathematicians, physicists, and engineers.Each of the book's ten chapters begins by outlining key concepts and goes on to discuss, with the minimum of technical detail, the principles that underlie them. Each includes puzzles and problems of varying difficulty. While the chapters are self-contained, they also reveal the links between seemingly unrelated topics. For example, the problem of how to design codes for satellite communication gives rise to the same idea of uncertainty as the problem of screening blood samples for disease.Accessible to anyone familiar with basic calculus, this book is a treasure trove of ideas that will entertain, amuse, and bemuse students, teachers, and math lovers of all ages.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, Nonfiction

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2003

Reviews

[Bet]

Matematik sorularıyla boğuşmayı her zaman sevmişimdir ama teorileri ve ispatlarını okumaktan hiç zevk almadım :) kaynak olarak faydalanılabilecek bir kitap

[Martin Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is recreational mathematics at its best. The topics are interesting and the explanations and proofs are clear. There are problems interspersed in the text that are integral to the explanation. The problems are sometimes challenging but never exceedingly difficult. If you get stuck, the answers are provided. The level of math required is high school level through the first half year of calculus.

I especially liked the chapter on Fibonacci numbers and continued fractions. The derivation of the matrix representation of continued fractions is made so simple that I almost believed that I could have derived it on my own. Good use is made of the matrices to find properties of Fibonacci numbers and for calculating the associated golden ratio.

[Maurizio Codogno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libri di matematica ricreativa ce ne sono tanti, però è sempre possibile trovarne qualcuno di cui non si era sentito parlare. Almeno per me è stato il caso di questo libro. Ball l'ha scritto a partire da un ciclo di conferenze che aveva preparato su temi matematici non trattati solitamente a scuola. Quello che ho trovato interessante è che, nonostante i temi siano abbastanza standard, la spiegazione si sposta su proprietà non certo note, tipo la trattazione matriciale dei numeri di Fibonacci oppure le procedure esplicite per costruire le curve di Peano. In pratica, insomma, ci si muove tra la matematica ricreativa e quella più seria, secondo la scuola che afferma che tutta la matematica è sempre matematica, e che certe divisioni sono artificiali. Intendiamoci, la trattazione non è esattamente elementare, e non lo consiglierei come libro introduttivo; però sono sicuro che chi ha già un background matematico lo troverà interessante.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most memorable chapter- the book shows how isbns are constructed to show if a digit in the sequence is off. Otherwise, meh. :)

[Ed Maped · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting topics.
Sometimes challenging reading.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Interesting set of topics and well-explained solutions.