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The Mathematical Magpie
The companion volume to Fantasia Mathematica , first published in 1962, this second anthology of mathematical writings is even more varied than the first and contains stories, cartoons, essays, rhymes, music, anecdotes, aphorisms, and other oddments. Authors include Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, and many other renowned figures. Like its predecessor, this wide-ranging collection will prove to be fascinating and entertaining reading for anyone with an interest in mathematics.
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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About the author
Clifton Fadiman
223 books36 followersClifton Paul "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 6, 2023
“An assemblage of mathematical fancies and entertainments”
An interesting idea for an anthology of short stories on a single, albeit vast, topic … mathematics.
“Teachers in many cases found it an effective tool, possibly like the sugar coating on a pill. Just as small children train themselves for ‘real’ life through play, so some of us may approach the ostensibly forbidding country of mathematics through the gateway of fun and fancy.”
And, elsewhere in the foreword, editor Fadiman provides an obvious explanation for the clever title calling his collection of tidbits “Invitational Mathematics”.
“The reader is merely asked to look at some odd, shiny, sometimes ridiculous bits and pieces the magpie has retrieved in the course of her housekeeping.”
He ended that foreword with the wish,
“I hope that its stories, cartoons, humorous sketches, parodies, lyrics, anecdotes, verses, and playful speculations will help to seduce those who think they have nonmathematical minds into entering at least the anteroom of the crowded, astonishing, and almost magical hall of mathematics.”
I would concur with the wish and review THE MATHEMATICAL MAGPIE simply by expressing my opinion that the quality of the individual items included in the anthology range from weak and uninteresting to astonishing, amusing, laugh-out-loud funny 5-star gems.
Paul Weiss
An interesting idea for an anthology of short stories on a single, albeit vast, topic … mathematics.
“Teachers in many cases found it an effective tool, possibly like the sugar coating on a pill. Just as small children train themselves for ‘real’ life through play, so some of us may approach the ostensibly forbidding country of mathematics through the gateway of fun and fancy.”
And, elsewhere in the foreword, editor Fadiman provides an obvious explanation for the clever title calling his collection of tidbits “Invitational Mathematics”.
“The reader is merely asked to look at some odd, shiny, sometimes ridiculous bits and pieces the magpie has retrieved in the course of her housekeeping.”
He ended that foreword with the wish,
“I hope that its stories, cartoons, humorous sketches, parodies, lyrics, anecdotes, verses, and playful speculations will help to seduce those who think they have nonmathematical minds into entering at least the anteroom of the crowded, astonishing, and almost magical hall of mathematics.”
I would concur with the wish and review THE MATHEMATICAL MAGPIE simply by expressing my opinion that the quality of the individual items included in the anthology range from weak and uninteresting to astonishing, amusing, laugh-out-loud funny 5-star gems.
Paul Weiss
May 7, 2009
This was in the public library when I was a kid, and I loved it then. I was happy to see it in the Strand not long ago, and now I have my own copy.
November 11, 2013
A good collection; I highly recommend "The Feeling of Power" by Isaac Asimov and "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke. "Sixteen Stones," by Samuel Beckett, is also memorable.
sony-or-android
December 28, 2019Open Library.
Others by Fadiman on math would be interesting, too.
Others by Fadiman on math would be interesting, too.
June 16, 2017
Somewhat interesting collection of stories, rhymes, poems all touching on Mathematics in some way.
September 14, 2021
Più o meno come il precedente
Come già nella sua raccolta precedente, qui Clifton Fadiman raccoglie secondo i suoi gusti testi letterari legati alla matematica. Confesso che ho saltato a pie pari la parte con le poesie: tra i racconti, a parte il noto The Nine Billion Names of God di Arthur Clarke, segnalo Star, Bright di Mark Clifton, Sulle proprietà aerodinamiche dell'addizione di Raymond Queneau, Coconuts di Ben Ames Williams (sì, è il problema della scimmia e delle noci di cocco reso famoso da Martin Gardner), Euclid and the Bright Boy di J.L. Synge per un testo fuori dagli schemi standard, con una menzione onorevole a The Symbolic Logic of Murder di John Reese che non vale molto ma ha una vera dimostrazione di logica booleana in stile quesito della Susi.
Come già nella sua raccolta precedente, qui Clifton Fadiman raccoglie secondo i suoi gusti testi letterari legati alla matematica. Confesso che ho saltato a pie pari la parte con le poesie: tra i racconti, a parte il noto The Nine Billion Names of God di Arthur Clarke, segnalo Star, Bright di Mark Clifton, Sulle proprietà aerodinamiche dell'addizione di Raymond Queneau, Coconuts di Ben Ames Williams (sì, è il problema della scimmia e delle noci di cocco reso famoso da Martin Gardner), Euclid and the Bright Boy di J.L. Synge per un testo fuori dagli schemi standard, con una menzione onorevole a The Symbolic Logic of Murder di John Reese che non vale molto ma ha una vera dimostrazione di logica booleana in stile quesito della Susi.
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July 16, 2017Some gems but mostly not. 5 stars for "The Feeling of Power" by Isaac Asimov.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews