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Spectrum
Harmony of the World: 75 Years of Mathematics Magazine
A collection of the best from Mathematics Magazine. Gems from past issues of Mathematics Magazine or the Monthly or the College Mathematics Journal are read with pleasure when they appear, but get pushed into the background when the next issues arrive. So from time to time it is rewarding to go back and see just what marvellous material has been published over the years. There is history of mathematics (algebraic, numbers, inequalities, probability, and the Lebesgue integral, quaternions, Pólya's enumeration theorem, and group theory) and history of mathematicians (Hypatia, Gauss, E. T. Bell, Hamilton, and Euler). The list of authors is E. T. Bell, Otto Neugebaur, D. H. Lehmer, Morris Kline, Einar Hille, Richard Bellman, Judith Grabiner, Paul Erdös, B. L. van der Waerden, Paul R. Halmos, Doris Schattschneider, J. J. Burckhardt, Branko Grübaum, and many more. Eight of the articles included have received the Carl L. Allendoerfer or Lester R. Ford Awards.
302 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 24, 2016
Given a publication history of 75 years, finding a collection of 38 papers that are an accurate representation of the content is an impossible task. Mathematics is a very broad subject with many applications that have been reflected in the pages of Mathematics Magazine. Yet, to their credit, the editors do as good a job as is possible.
The papers in this book, all of which appeared in Mathematics Magazine, are yet another demonstration of the incredible breadth of mathematics. Although the majority deal with some aspect of history, the study of the history of mathematics is also a demonstration of the breadth.
The organization is based on decades, with a small number of papers from each of the ten-year spans. For example, there are three papers from the 1940s, five papers from the 1950s and seven papers from the 1960s. This is an organizing principle only, there is no other significance that can be attached to it.
Although some of the papers contain a bit of rigor, all of the papers are expository in nature, accessible to the advanced undergraduate and suitable for assigned reading. Teachers of the history of mathematics will find many of the papers appropriate for student reading and discussion. Each paper begins with a short “Editor’s note” that establishes the context of the paper, including a brief bio of the author. As with the rest of the book, this feature is also well done.
This book was made available for free for review purposes
The papers in this book, all of which appeared in Mathematics Magazine, are yet another demonstration of the incredible breadth of mathematics. Although the majority deal with some aspect of history, the study of the history of mathematics is also a demonstration of the breadth.
The organization is based on decades, with a small number of papers from each of the ten-year spans. For example, there are three papers from the 1940s, five papers from the 1950s and seven papers from the 1960s. This is an organizing principle only, there is no other significance that can be attached to it.
Although some of the papers contain a bit of rigor, all of the papers are expository in nature, accessible to the advanced undergraduate and suitable for assigned reading. Teachers of the history of mathematics will find many of the papers appropriate for student reading and discussion. Each paper begins with a short “Editor’s note” that establishes the context of the paper, including a brief bio of the author. As with the rest of the book, this feature is also well done.
This book was made available for free for review purposes
November 1, 2014
Mathematics Magazine è il fratellino minore dell'American Mathematical Monthly: una rivista che parla di matematica ma a un livello più basso. Intendiamoci: "più basso" significa a livello universitario... Ad ogni buon conto, alcuni anni fa è stato preparato questo libro che raccoglie una piccola selezione degli articoli apparsi nei primi tre quarti di secolo della storia della rivista. Onestamente mi aspettavo di più: la parte più importante mi è sembrata quella (auto)celebrativa, dove si mostra come anche grandi nomi della matematica si sono "degnati" di scrivere lì. Ci sono chicche storiche come il resoconto del Congresso Internazionale dei Matematici del 1936 (dove ho scoperto che gli italiani non vi parteciparono a causa delle sanzioni per l'invasione dell'Etiopia, anche se non ho capito se è stata una ripicca italiana o un divieto imposto dagli inglesi) o curiosità come il sistema di numerazione in base φ scritto da un dodicenne. In definitiva, però, è un lbro di cui si può fare tranquillamente a meno.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews