Math’s infinite mysteries and beauty unfold in this follow-up to the best-selling The Science Book. Beginning millions of years ago with ancient “ant odometers” and moving through time to our modern-day quest for new dimensions, it covers 250 milestones in mathematical history. Among the numerous delights readers will learn about as they dip into this inviting anthology: cicada-generated prime numbers, magic squares from centuries ago, the discovery of pi and calculus, and the butterfly effect.
Each topic gets a lavishly illustrated spread with stunning color art, along with formulas and concepts, fascinating facts about scientists’ lives, and real-world applications of the theorems.
In the “Math Book”, Pickover takes on the great moments or milestones of mathematics. While the great laws of physics were almost all named by the early twentieth century, scientific milestones continue to be established. Thus, the mathematical milestones of the “Math Book” are documented into the twenty-first century.
Each milestone is described on just one page, and each is accompanied by a full page image on the facing page. These limitations restrict the scope of the presentation for each subject. However, having as many as 250 milestones has allowed Pickover to expand some subject areas into more than one related milestone.
The images are absolutely beautiful. They include paintings, diagrams, photos, and computer-generated art. Among the best are a close-up photo of the game of Go, a map of the Internet as the illustration for the Konigsberg Bridges, the Gray Code using a diagram taken from a US patent, and the Archimedes Spiral as exemplified by a fiddlehead fern.
Pickover is able to include more technology-related topics. He is also a down-to-earth scientist. The topics in this book include such concrete subjects as the bed sheet folding problem, public key cryptography, Rubik’s Cube, and cicada-generated prime numbers. Not all milestones were charted by humans.
The 250 entries in the book make it an incredibly fascinating stroll through the history of mathematics. The book definitely has bestseller potential, and could easily be one of Pickover’s best works.
Related Books:
- Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail – By Danica McKellar
- Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 3rd Updated Edition (Book & CD-ROM) : By David C. Lay
- Elementary and Middle School Mathmatics: Teaching Developmentally (Paperback)- By John A. Van De Walle
- Algebra and Trigonometry : By Michael Sullivan
