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Title: Life by the Numbers by Keith Devlin ISBN: 0-471-32822-7 Publisher: Wiley Pub. Date: 17 March, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Very Entertaining
Comment: Life by the Numbers has a simple thesis to prove: that math is anywhere and everywhere; but instead of asserting the pervading ubiquity of mathematics whether you like it or not, the book convinces you that you *will* like it, period.
The book is richly illustrated and jargon-free, true to its promise on clarity and easy-of-reading especially for the non-professional readers. It is not so much of a wild speculation however to suggest that even a professional (specialist) mathematician will get a worthy entertainment reading this book, considering the wide spectrum of human interests where mathematics is unexpectedly to lurk that Devlin adventurously explores.
Rating: 5
Summary: An easily understood description of exciting mathematics
Comment: I recently purchased a videotape of the Star Wars movie, 'The Phantom Menace.' It is difficult to believe that a more convincing point of evidence for the power of applied mathematics will exist for some time. The scenes where the generated creatures are in motion have a degree of reality that is astounding. As Devlin spends a great deal of time explaining in this book, what you see is a complex series of numbers translated by a computer into pictures on a screen.
Other topics concerning image generation by computer involve the visualization of scientific data. People working in this area are often a combination of graphics artist and computer scientist. With such enormous amounts of data being collected, interpreting it and filtering out the points of interest has become a horrifically difficult task. The only way that it can be done is to find ways to filter the data as much as possible and then display it in a visual manner where the key points are easily discernible. No quote better describes the situation than that uttered by R. W. Hamming, 'The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.'
The physics of sports is also described in some detail. No matter how well trained their bodies are, athletes are still bound by the laws of physics, so at some point their training must incorporate these laws. A simple question such as whether to jump higher or spin faster when figure skating can determine the difference between a medal winning performance and simply watching it happen on television.
This book is a tour de force in how many applications there are for mathematics, with many that appeal to young people. An appreciation for the value of mathematics is the first step towards a desire to study it, and this book will no doubt spark the appreciation.
Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.
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Title: The Language of Mathematics: Making the Invisible Visible by Keith J. Devlin ISBN: 0805072543 Publisher: Owl Books (NY) Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Mathematics : The Science of Patterns by Keith Devlin ISBN: 0805073442 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 15 December, 1996 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: The Math Gene: How Mathematical Thinking Evolved & Why Numbers Are Like Gossip by Keith J. Devlin ISBN: 0465016197 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 22 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Concepts of Modern Mathematics by Ian Stewart ISBN: 0486284247 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 February, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Mathematics by Keith Devlin ISBN: 023111639X Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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