Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Mathematics, Invisible, Language, Making, Visible

The Language of Mathematics: Making the Invisible Visible







  • ISBN13: 9780805072549
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed


"The great book of nature," said Galileo, "can be read only by those who know the language in which it was written. And this language is mathematics." In The Language of Mathematics, award-winning author Keith Devlin reveals the vital role mathematics plays in our eternal quest to understand who we are and the world we live in. More than just the study of numbers, mathematics provides us with the eyes to recognize and describe the hidden patterns of lifeâ€"patterns that exist in the physical, biological, and social worlds without, and the realm of ideas and thoughts within.

Taking the reader on a wondrous journey through the invisible universe that surrounds usâ€"a universe made visible by mathematicsâ€"Devlin shows us what keeps a jumbo jet in the air, explains how we can see and hear a football game on TV, allows us to predict the weather, the behavior of the stock market, and the outcome of elections. Microwave ovens, telephone cables, children's toys, pacemakers, automobiles, and computersâ€"all operate on mathematical principles. Far from a dry and esoteric subject, mathematics is a rich and living part of our culture. An exploration of an often woefully misunderstood subject, The Language of Mathematics celebrates the simplicity, the precision, the purity, and the elegance of mathematics.
Keith Devlin is trying to be the Carl Sagan of mathematics, and he is succeeding. He writes: "Though the structures and patterns of mathematics reflect the structure of, and resonate in, the human mind every bit as much as do the structures and patterns of music, human beings have developed no mathematical equivalent of a pair of ears. Mathematics can be seen only with the eyes of the mind." All of his books are attempts to get around this problem, to "try to communicate to others some sense of what it is we experience--some sense of the simplicity, the precision, the purity, and the elegance that give the patterns of mathematics their aesthetic value."

Life by the Numbers, Devlin's companion book to the PBS series of the same name, is heavily illustrated and soothingly low on equations. But as he says, wanting mathematics without abstract notation "is rather like saying that Shakespeare would be much easier to understand if it were written in simpler language."

The Language of Mathematics is Devlin's second iteration of the approach he used in Mathematics: The Science of Patterns. It covers all the same ground (and uses many of the same words) as the latter, but with fewer glossy pictures, sidebars, and references. Devlin has also added chapters on statistics and on mathematical patterns in nature. --Mary Ellen Curtin







Rating: (out of 24 reviews)







List Price: $ 22.00



Price: $ 11.74










Other posts like this, by keyword:

Mathematics:

Encyclopaedia of Mathematics (9) ...
Further Mathematics for the Physical Sciences ...
An Introduction to Laplace Transforms and Fourier Series (Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series) ...
Journey into Mathematics, A: An Introduction to Proofs ...
Mathematics Classrooms That Promote Understanding (Studies in Mathematical Thinking and Learning Series) ...
Best of the Fifties / Book #2 (Archie Americana Series) ...
What is a career that deals with mathematics, chemistry, and health? ...
Q&A: How does one find the more advanced mathematics questions? ...
Engineering Mathematics: A Modern Foundation for Electronic, Electrical, and Systems Engineering ...
Killing Orders: A V. I. Warshawski Novels ...
Invisible:

The Karate Class Mystery (Invisible Inc., No. 5; Hello, Reader! Level 4) Reviews ...
Let’s Get Invisible (Goosebumps Series) ...
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art ...
Language:

Personnages: An Intermediate Course in French Language and Francophone Culture (Cengage Acquisition) ...
The Language Center at Tacoma Community College Library in Tacoma, WA ...
The Language of Democracy: Political Rhetoric in the United States and Britain, 1790-1900 ...
Name of the Game (Language of Love #33) Reviews ...
Envisioning Literature: Literary Understanding and Literature Instruction (Language and Literacy Series) Reviews ...
Teaching for Joy and Justice: Re-Imagining the Language Arts Classroom ...
The American Heritage English as a Second Language Dictionary Reviews ...
Vocabulary Workshop: Third Course (Elements of Language) ...
Teaching for Joy and Justice: Re-Imagining the Language Arts Classroom ...
Greek (Modern), Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Modern Greek with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur) Re ...
Making:

Making Creativity Accountable: How Successful Advertisers Manage Their Television and Print Reviews ...
Shooting & Selling Your Photos: The Complete Guide to Making Money with Your Photography ...
The 2011 Import and Export Market for Textile Machinery for Weaving, Knitting, Stitch-Bonding; Making Tulle, Lace, Embroidery, Braid; and Fe ...
Making Schools Work : A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need ...
New Bedford set to shine for half marathon ...
Puree for Baby: Over 101 Healthy Recipes for Making Homemade Baby Food ...
Making it as a Couple: Prescription for a Quality Relationship ...
Making Puppets Come Alive: How to Learn and Teach Hand Puppetry (Dover Craft Books) ...
A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men, and the Making of the United States ...
Making a World of Difference. Personal Leadership: A Methodology of Two Principles and Six Practices ...
Visible:

Catholicism, or, Several enquiries touching visible church-membership, church-communion, the nature of schism, and the usefulness of natural ...
The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business ...

No comments:

Post a Comment