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A Passion for Mathematics: Numbers, Puzzles, Madness, Religion, and the Quest for Reality
A smorgasbord of math puzzles, factoids, quotations, trivia, formulas, and much more Are you fascinated by numbers and want to learn more? does the vast world of math problems that humans have solved—and the ones we have yet to begin to comprehend—give you goosebumps? If so, this book is for you. A Passion for Mathematics is an educational, entertaining trip through the curiosities of the math world, blending an eclectic mix of history, biography, philosophy, number theory, geometry, probability, huge numbers, and mind-bending problems into a delightfully compelling collection that is sure to please math buffs, students, and experienced mathematicians alike.In each chapter, Clifford Pickover provides factoids, anecdotes, definitions, quotations, and captivating challenges that range from fun, quirky puzzles to insanely difficult problems. Readers will encounter mad mathematicians, strange number sequences, obstinate numbers, curious constants, magic squares, fractal geese, monkeys typing Hamlet, infinity, and much, much more. A Passion for Mathematics will feed readers' fascination while giving them problem-solving skills a great workout!
394 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
27 people are currently reading
477 people want to read
About the author
Clifford A. Pickover
87 books233 followersClifford Alan Pickover is an American author, editor, and columnist in the fields of science, mathematics, science fiction, innovation, and creativity. For many years, he was employed at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, New York, where he was editor-in-chief of the IBM Journal of Research and Development. He has been granted more than 700 U.S. patents, is an elected Fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and is author of more than 50 books, translated into more than a dozen languages.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 17, 2008
This book has a lot of math history and puzzles broken into delightful short chunks. Great browsing.
April 8, 2020
Truly marvelous book full of fascinating mathematical facts, stories, puzzles and Pickover's inimitable wit. There are chapters dedicated to subjects such as interesting numbers and number sequences, the concept of infinity, probability, and beauty. The author is particularly fascinated with the connection between religion and mathematics, which is an important recurring theme throughout the book.
Aside from Pickover's tendency to name characters in her puzzles "Bill" and "Monica" (a minor character named "Donald Trumpet" also appears with some regularity), there is hardly anything even slightly negative about the book - I read it during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and it was a great diversion from the glum reality of the world at the time. I am sure I will be taking it off the shelf and keep working on one of the puzzles for many years to come. Highly recommended to anyone interested in mathematics.
Aside from Pickover's tendency to name characters in her puzzles "Bill" and "Monica" (a minor character named "Donald Trumpet" also appears with some regularity), there is hardly anything even slightly negative about the book - I read it during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and it was a great diversion from the glum reality of the world at the time. I am sure I will be taking it off the shelf and keep working on one of the puzzles for many years to come. Highly recommended to anyone interested in mathematics.
September 12, 2015
Some of it went over my head, but I learned a lot of interesting concepts to contemplate. It's books like these that make me wish that math classes in public schools could be taught more creatively and more holistically. His book testifies to the fact that mathematical concepts become discovered not through cold-hearted pragmatism and materialistic/linear causation, but through the sheer joy of building patterns and seeing how it all connects.
March 31, 2023
Recently, I came across the works of Clifford Pickover. I finished reading Surfing Through Hyperspace and I found it extremely interesting, and so I decided to try another book from his vault – Passion for Mathematics.
This book is equally fascinating. I liked the presentation of the content. Firstly, the various mathematical ideas are introduced with diagrams and puzzles, which helps in understanding the notion better.
Secondly, quotes are sprinkled here and there to give the subject some poetic effect and depth to abstract concepts.
Thirdly, the brain teasers and mazes were quite entertaining. After reading the book, I realized maths as a subject can be so much fun. Wow!
If you want to see the universe through the lens of numbers, just pick up this book, you won’t regret. Also, mathematics is not terrifying, the numbers are very friendly, trust me!
More from my blog post: A Passion for Mathematics
This book is equally fascinating. I liked the presentation of the content. Firstly, the various mathematical ideas are introduced with diagrams and puzzles, which helps in understanding the notion better.
Secondly, quotes are sprinkled here and there to give the subject some poetic effect and depth to abstract concepts.
Thirdly, the brain teasers and mazes were quite entertaining. After reading the book, I realized maths as a subject can be so much fun. Wow!
If you want to see the universe through the lens of numbers, just pick up this book, you won’t regret. Also, mathematics is not terrifying, the numbers are very friendly, trust me!
More from my blog post: A Passion for Mathematics
October 31, 2021
"A Passion for Mathematics" fuelled my imagination with the beauty of mathematics, and amazed me with the wide range of applications in which humanity has found this topic beneficial, if not essential.
Pickover demonstrates how mathematics pervades our world, universe, and daily experiences. The inclusion of historical figures and events breathes life into this wonderful work, often with suspense and wit.
GREAT BOOK!
Would highly recommend!!
Pickover demonstrates how mathematics pervades our world, universe, and daily experiences. The inclusion of historical figures and events breathes life into this wonderful work, often with suspense and wit.
GREAT BOOK!
Would highly recommend!!
January 26, 2015
An amazing book, full of math puzzles, factiods, quotations, trivia, formulas, and much more.
September 24, 2021
[I read and reviewed this book before I joined GoodReads. I am posting this review in September 2021, having just finished reading another one of Pickover's many publications, The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics (Sterling, 2009); review forthcoming.]
Following an introductory chapter discussing mathematical marvels from beyond the edge, The Ramanujan code, blood dreams and God's mathematicians, the mathematical smorgasbord, explanation of symbols, and cultivating perpetual mystery, the material is organized into the following seven chapters:
1. Numbers, History, Society, and People
2. Cool Numbers
3. Algebra, Percentages, Weird Puzzles, Marvelous Mathematical Manipulation
4. Geometry, Games, and Beyond
5. Probability: Take Your Chances
6. Bing Numbers and Infinity
7. Mathematics and Beauty
The book's pages are formatted like a magazine, with "stories," ranging in length from a few lines to about half a page, introducing various people/concepts. Some entries are questions, whose answers appear in the section "Answers and Further Exploring" at the end of the book.
Let me end my review with brief versions of five representative stories, as examples of form and content.
The Number Pope: Gerbert of Aurillac (ca. 946-1003), elected Pope Sylvester II in 999, was fascinated by math, replaced Roman numerals by Arabic numerals, and was viewed by his detractors as an evil magician.
Progress in Mathematics: "In most sciences, one generation tears down what another has built and what one has established another undoes. In mathematics alone, each generation adds a new story to the old structure." ~ Herman Hankel [1839-1873]
First Female Doctorate in Math: Who was the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics, and in what century did she receive it? [Answer: Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891), who made valuable contributions to the theory of differential equations.]
The Special Number 7: In ancient days, the number 7 was thought of as just another way to signify “many.” Even in recent times, there have been tribes that used no numbers higher than 7. In the 1880s, the German ethnologist Karl von Steinen described how certain South American Indian tribes had very few words for numbers. As a test, he repeatedly asked them to count ten grains of corn. They counted “slowly but correctly to six, but when it came to the seventh grain and the eighth, they grew tense and uneasy, at first yawning and complaining of a headache, then finally avoided the question altogether or simply walked off.” Perhaps seven means “many” in such common phrases as “seven seas” and “seven deadly sins.”
Anamnesis and the Number 216: During Pythagoras's time, most philosophers believed that only men could be happy. Pythagoras believed that plants, animals, and women could also be happy, and that he himself had been both a plant and an animal in past lives, with 216 = 6^3 years between his successive incarnations.
Following an introductory chapter discussing mathematical marvels from beyond the edge, The Ramanujan code, blood dreams and God's mathematicians, the mathematical smorgasbord, explanation of symbols, and cultivating perpetual mystery, the material is organized into the following seven chapters:
1. Numbers, History, Society, and People
2. Cool Numbers
3. Algebra, Percentages, Weird Puzzles, Marvelous Mathematical Manipulation
4. Geometry, Games, and Beyond
5. Probability: Take Your Chances
6. Bing Numbers and Infinity
7. Mathematics and Beauty
The book's pages are formatted like a magazine, with "stories," ranging in length from a few lines to about half a page, introducing various people/concepts. Some entries are questions, whose answers appear in the section "Answers and Further Exploring" at the end of the book.
Let me end my review with brief versions of five representative stories, as examples of form and content.
The Number Pope: Gerbert of Aurillac (ca. 946-1003), elected Pope Sylvester II in 999, was fascinated by math, replaced Roman numerals by Arabic numerals, and was viewed by his detractors as an evil magician.
Progress in Mathematics: "In most sciences, one generation tears down what another has built and what one has established another undoes. In mathematics alone, each generation adds a new story to the old structure." ~ Herman Hankel [1839-1873]
First Female Doctorate in Math: Who was the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics, and in what century did she receive it? [Answer: Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891), who made valuable contributions to the theory of differential equations.]
The Special Number 7: In ancient days, the number 7 was thought of as just another way to signify “many.” Even in recent times, there have been tribes that used no numbers higher than 7. In the 1880s, the German ethnologist Karl von Steinen described how certain South American Indian tribes had very few words for numbers. As a test, he repeatedly asked them to count ten grains of corn. They counted “slowly but correctly to six, but when it came to the seventh grain and the eighth, they grew tense and uneasy, at first yawning and complaining of a headache, then finally avoided the question altogether or simply walked off.” Perhaps seven means “many” in such common phrases as “seven seas” and “seven deadly sins.”
Anamnesis and the Number 216: During Pythagoras's time, most philosophers believed that only men could be happy. Pythagoras believed that plants, animals, and women could also be happy, and that he himself had been both a plant and an animal in past lives, with 216 = 6^3 years between his successive incarnations.
August 27, 2017
A lot of nice problems and math facts for different levels. Will use for my math team for sure.
April 18, 2022
เกร็ดน่าสนใจสำหรับคนรักคณิตศาสตร์
January 23, 2013
Lot of information to take in but it's a good read and the question/answering parts are interesting.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews