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The Best Writing on Mathematics 2015
The year's finest writing on mathematics from around the world
This annual anthology brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field, The Best Writing on Mathematics 2015 makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else―and you don’t need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today’s hottest mathematical debates.
Here David Hand explains why we should actually expect unlikely coincidences to happen; Arthur Benjamin and Ethan Brown unveil techniques for improvising custom-made magic number squares; Dana Mackenzie describes how mathematicians are making essential contributions to the development of synthetic biology; Steven Strogatz tells us why it’s worth writing about math for people who are alienated from it; Lisa Rougetet traces the earliest written descriptions of Nim, a popular game of mathematical strategy; Scott Aaronson looks at the unexpected implications of testing numbers for randomness; and much, much more.
In addition to presenting the year’s most memorable writings on mathematics, this must-have anthology includes a bibliography of other notable writings and an introduction by the editor, Mircea Pitici. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us―and where it is headed.
This annual anthology brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field, The Best Writing on Mathematics 2015 makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else―and you don’t need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today’s hottest mathematical debates.
Here David Hand explains why we should actually expect unlikely coincidences to happen; Arthur Benjamin and Ethan Brown unveil techniques for improvising custom-made magic number squares; Dana Mackenzie describes how mathematicians are making essential contributions to the development of synthetic biology; Steven Strogatz tells us why it’s worth writing about math for people who are alienated from it; Lisa Rougetet traces the earliest written descriptions of Nim, a popular game of mathematical strategy; Scott Aaronson looks at the unexpected implications of testing numbers for randomness; and much, much more.
In addition to presenting the year’s most memorable writings on mathematics, this must-have anthology includes a bibliography of other notable writings and an introduction by the editor, Mircea Pitici. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us―and where it is headed.
- GenresMathematicsNonfiction
392 pages, Paperback
First published January 26, 2016
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37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 11, 2024
Highlights:
"Chaos on the Billiard Table" by Marianne Freiberger
"Juggling with Numbers" by Erik R. Tou
"The Pigeonhole Principle, Two Centuries before Dirichlet" by Benoît Rittaud and Albrecht Heeffer
"A Prehistory of Nim" by Lisa Rougetet
"The Statistical Crisis in Science" by Andrew Gelman and Eric Loken
"Never Say Never" by David J. Hand
"Chaos on the Billiard Table" by Marianne Freiberger
"Juggling with Numbers" by Erik R. Tou
"The Pigeonhole Principle, Two Centuries before Dirichlet" by Benoît Rittaud and Albrecht Heeffer
"A Prehistory of Nim" by Lisa Rougetet
"The Statistical Crisis in Science" by Andrew Gelman and Eric Loken
"Never Say Never" by David J. Hand
June 7, 2017
really an excellent selection of articles with long list of articles that came close to selection. i will go back and read other editions from prior years
February 23, 2018
Didn't seem to be as many good articles in this book as previous books in this series.
April 8, 2016
a surprisingly enjoyable read! wide variety of math-related pieces, from stats and education to philosophy and geometry
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July 12, 2016Got the Kindle edition, and found it a real challenge on my paper white. Had to switch to the Kindle app on my tablet to make sense of some of the figures.
July 9, 2017
Some really good articles, others were dry or beyond me: about what I hoped. I might check out others of the.annual best books...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews