Aspiring engineers will get a head start with this introduction to the past, present, and future of engineering. Enter a world of engineering with detailed explanations of the history of discovery and innovation that has made modern technology possible. Engineering Made Simple presents the fundamentals of making and creating, from the physics of flying to the chemistry of manufacturing. Each of the ten chapters will connect readers with a topic that helps make sense of engineering. Learn what it means to be an engineer, understand the laws scientists use to push the limits of speed and safety,... View More...
Were it not for the calculus, mathematicians would have no way to describe the acceleration of a motorcycle or the effect of gravity on thrown balls and distant planets, or to prove that a man could cross a room and eventually touch the opposite wall. Just how calculus makes these things possible and in doing so finds a correspondence between real numbers and the real world is the subject of this dazzling book by a writer of extraordinary clarity and stylistic brio. Even as he initiates us into the mysteries of real numbers, functions, and limits, Berlinski explores the furthest implications o... View More...
Updated and expanded to include the optional use of graphing calculators, this combination textbook and workbook is a good teach-yourself refresher course for men and women who took a calculus course in school, have since forgotten most of what they learned, and now need some practical calculus for business purposes or advanced education. The book is also very useful as a supplementary text for students who are taking calculus and finding it a struggle. Each progressive work unit offers clear instruction and worked-out examples. Special emphasis has been placed on business and economic applica... View More...
"Highly accessible and enjoyable for readers who love and loathe math." --Booklist A critical read for teachers and parents who want to improve children's mathematics learning, What's Math Got to Do with It? is "an inspiring resource" (Publishers Weekly). Featuring all the important advice and suggestions in the original edition of What's Math Got to Do with It?, this revised edition is now updated with new research on the brain and mathematics that is revolutionizing scientists' understanding of learning and potential. As always Jo Boaler presents research findings through practical ideas tha... View More...
Mathematics, that breathtaking invention of ours that reveals the tiniest particles of matter and takes us to the outermost reaches of the cosmos, is found by many people to be intimidating. In The Universe and the Teacup, K. C. Cole demystifies mathematics and shows us-with humor and wonderfully accessible stories-why math need not be frightening. Using the O. J. Simpson trial, the bell curve, and Emmy Noether, the nineteenth-century woman scientist whose work was essential for Einstein's theory of relativity, Cole helps us see that more than just being a tool, math is a key to understanding ... View More...
Filled with the author's eloquent wit and broad intelligence, this book brings the history of numbers to life as Bill Bryson did for the English language in 'The Mother Tongue'. View More...
In this engaging book, Donald Davis explains some of the most fascinating ideas in mathematics to the nonspecialist, highlighting their philosophical and historical interest, their often surprising applicability, and their beauty. The three main topics discussed are non-Euclidean geometry, with its application to the theory of relativity; number theory, with its application to cryptography; and fractals, which are an application in art, among other areas, of early mathematical work on iteration. Other topics include the influence of Greek mathematics on Kepler's laws of planetary motion, and t... View More...
The definitive story of the Riemann Hypothesis, a fascinating and epic mathematical mystery that continues to challege the world. In 1859, Bernhard Riemann, a little-known thirty-two year old mathematician, made a hypothesis while presenting a paper to the Berlin Academy titled "On the Number of Prime Numbers Less Than a Given Quantity." Today, after 150 years of careful research and exhaustive study, the Riemann Hyphothesis remains unsolved, with a one-million-dollar prize earmarked for the first person to conquer it.Alternating passages of extraordinarily lucid mathematical exposition with c... View More...
If people are endowed with a number instinct similar to the language instinct -- as recent research suggests -- then why can't everyone do math? In The Math Gene, mathematician and popular writer Keith Devlin attacks both sides of this question. Devlin offers a breathtakingly new theory of language development that describes how language evolved in two stages and how its main purpose was not communication. Devlin goes on to show that the ability to think mathematically arose out of the same symbol-manipulating ability that was so crucial to the very first emergence of true language. Why, then,... View More...
The companion to the hit CBS crime series Numb3rs presents the fascinating way mathematics is used to fight real-life crime Using the popular CBS prime-time TV crime series Numb3rs as a springboard, Keith Devlin (known to millions of NPR listeners as the Math Guy on NPR's Weekend Edition with Scott Simon) and Gary Lorden (the principal math advisor to Numb3rs) explain real-life mathematical techniques used by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to catch and convict criminals. From forensics to counterterrorism, the Riemann hypothesis to image enhancement, solving murders to beating cas... View More...
Symmetry is all around us. Our eyes and minds are drawn to symmetrical objects, from the pyramid to the pentagon. Of fundamental significance to the way we interpret the world, this unique, pervasive phenomenon indicates a dynamic relationship between objects. In chemistry and physics, the concept of symmetry explains the structure of crystals or the theory of fundamental particles; in evolutionary biology, the natural world exploits symmetry in the fight for survival; and symmetry--and the breaking of it--is central to ideas in art, architecture, and music.Combining a rich historical narrativ... View More...
The Freakonomics of math--a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us how terribly limiting this view is: Math isn't confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do--the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It's a science of... View More...
The international best-seller that makes mathematics a thrilling exploration In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, meets a Number Devil, who leads him to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without end. As we dream with him, we are taken further and further into mathematical theory, where ideas eventually take flight, until everyone--from those who fumble over fractions to those who solve complex equations in their heads--winds up marveling at what numbers can do... View More...
This is the definitive edition of one of the very greatest classics of all time -- the full Euclid, not an abridgement. Using the text established by Heiberg, Sir Thomas Heath encompasses almost 2,500 years of mathematical and historical study upon Euclid.This unabridged republication of the original enlarged edition contains the complete English text of all 13 books of the Elements, plus a critical apparatus that analyzes each definition, postulate, and proposition in great detail. It covers textual and linguistic matters; mathematical analyses of Euclid's ideas; classical, medieval, Renaiss... View More...
Is everything chaos and chance, or is there order, harmony, and proportion in human life, nature, and the finest art? Can one find a natural aesthetic that corresponds to a universal order? If so, what importance can it have for the scientist, artist, or layman? What is the true significance of the triangle, rectangle, spiral, and other geometric shapes? These are but a few of the questions that Professor Matila Ghyka deals with in this fascinating book. The author believes that there are such things as The Mathematics of Life and The Mathematics of Art, and that the two coincide. Using simple... View More...
If your students have ever looked for P-values by shopping at P mart, tried to watch the Bernoulli Trails on "People's Court," or think that the standard deviation is a criminal offense in six states, then they need The Cartoon Guide to Statistics to put them on the road to statistical literacy. It covers all the central ideas of modern statistics: the summary and display of data, probability in gambling and medicine, random variables, Bernoulli Trails, the Central Limit Theorem, hypothesis testing, confidence interval estimation, and much more-all explained in simple, clear, and yes, funny i... View More...
