Mathematical Curiosities

by Alfred S. Posamentier, Alfred S. Posamentier, Ingmar Lehmann

An innovative and appealing way for the layperson to develop math skills--while actually enjoying itMost people agree that math is important, but few would say it's fun. This book will show you that the subject you learned to hate in high school can be as entertaining as a witty remark, as engrossing as the mystery novel you can't put down--in short, fun! As veteran math educators Posamentier and Lehmann demonstrate, when you realize that doing math can be enjoyable, you open a door into a world of unexpected insights while learning an important skill.The authors illustrate the point with many easily understandable examples. One of these is what mathematicians call the "Ruth-Aaron pair" (714 and 715), named after the respective career home runs of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. These two consecutive integers contain a host of interesting features, one of which is that their prime factors when added together have the same sum. The authors also explore the unusual aspects of such numbers as 11 and 18, which have intriguing properties usually overlooked by standard math curriculums. And to make you a better all-around problem solver, a variety of problems is presented that appear simple but have surprisingly clever solutions.If math has frustrated you over the years, this delightful approach will teach you many things you thought were beyond your reach, while conveying the key message that math can and should be anything but boring.

Genres: Science, Mathematics

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Alfred S. Posamentier (born October 18, 1942) is among the most prominent American educators in the country and is a lead commentator on American math and science education, regularly contributing to The New York Times and other news publications. He has created original math and science curricula, emphasized the need for increased math and science funding, promulgated criteria by which to select math and science educators, advocated the importance of involving parents in K-12 math and science education, and provided myriad curricular solutions for teaching critical thinking in math.

Dr. Posamentier was a member of the New York State Education Commissioner’s Blue Ribbon Panel on the Math-A Regents Exams. He served on the Commissioner’s Mathematics Standards Committee, which redefined the Standards for New York State. And he currently serves on the New York City schools’ Chancellor’s Math Advisory Panel.

Posamentier earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education from Fordham University (1973), a Master’s degree in mathematics education from the City College of the City University of New York (1966) and an A.B. degree in mathematics from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Posamentier was born in Manhattan in New York City, the son of Austrian immigrants. He has one daughter (Lisa, born in 1970), and one son (David, born in 1978). He resides in River Vale, New Jersey and is the current Dean of the School of Education and professor of mathematics education at Mercy College, New York. He was formerly professor of mathematics education and dean of the School of Education at The City College of the City University of New York, where he spent the previous 40 years.

Reviews

[Lee Belbin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Scan read. A few little gems amidst a ton of mathematical formulae. While they are not complex, they get tedious. The gems were the history and the personalities and some nice anomalies (e.g., add 1m to rope around the equator - how high would it be pulled up?), which were far far too few. This book is definitely not for the layperson!

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have two important takeaways from this book: 1) “entertainment” is highly subjective and 2) this author has no idea what most folks talk about amongst their friends.

All in all this book was way too technical and assumed a way higher knowledge base than the average reader likely has.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than I expected.
BUT there were a lot of typos, some ideas were repeated several times over, and, sadly, some points were just wrong (Golden Rectangles are not more aesthetically pleasing than any other).

All-in-all, it was worth a read, but check it out from the library.
I look forward to wowing students with some of the material in the future.

[Slickmez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scan read it. It is challenging! The problems do get you thinking.

This book is not as entertaining as some of the other recreational maths books around.

[Sylwia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fajne ciekawostki dla interesujących się matematyką.