Another Fine Math Youve Got Me Into

Presents a collection of mathematical curiosities and puzzles.

Sixteen columns from the French edition of Scientific American feature oddball characters and wacky wordplay in a mathematical wonderland of puzzles and games that also imparts significant mathematical ideas. 1992 edition.

“Witty, compelling, and just plain fun to read . . ." —Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American 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 not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to the true meaning of information we take for granted: How early should you get to the airport? What does “public opinion” really represent? Why do tall parents have shorter children? Who really won Florida in 2000? And how likely are you, really, to develop cancer? How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind all of these questions and many more, using the mathematician’s method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman—minus the jargon. Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic, encountering, among other things, baseball, Reaganomics, daring lottery schemes, Voltaire, the replicability crisis in psychology, Italian Renaissance painting, artificial languages, the development of non-Euclidean geometry, the coming obesity apocalypse, Antonin Scalia’s views on crime and punishment, the psychology of slime molds, what Facebook can and can’t figure out about you, and the existence of God. Ellenberg pulls from history as well as from the latest theoretical developments to provide those not trained in math with the knowledge they need. Math, as Ellenberg says, is “an atomic-powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense, vastly multiplying its reach and strength.” With the tools of mathematics in hand, you can understand the world in a deeper, more meaningful way. How Not to Be Wrong will show you how.

Provides a history of magic squares and similar structures, describing their construction and classification, along with informaiton on newly discovered objects.

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

Approaches mathematics using an assortment of puzzles and problems and the metaphorical structure of a maze.

For courses in secondary or middle school math. This text focuses on all the complex aspects of teaching mathematics in today's classroom and the most current NCTM standards. It demonstrates how to creatively incorporate the standards into teaching along with inquiry-based instructional strategies. Using one expansive case study that follows a mathematics teacher through his first year in the profession, the text illustrates how to lead pupils toward meaningful mathematics and strategies for developing mathematics skills. Interactive in its approach, the text includes an abundance of illustrative examples, mini case studies, cooperative learning activities, field-based activities, and transitional activities.

David Whitin and Sandra Wilde continue to explore the importance of children's literature in the teaching and learning of mathematics. They show how books help portray mathematics as it really is: a tool for making sense of our world.