Mathematical Reflections: In a Room with Many Mirrors (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) by Peter Hilton (PDF)

Description

A relaxed and informal presentation conveying the joy of mathematical discovery and insight. Frequent questions lead readers to see mathematics as an accessible world of thought, where understanding can turn opaque formulae into beautiful and meaningful ideas. The text presents eight topics that illustrate the unity of mathematical thought as well as the diversity of mathematical ideas. Drawn from both “pure” and “applied” mathematics, they include: spirals in nature and in mathematics; the modern topic of fractals and the ancient topic of Fibonacci numbers; Pascals Triangle and paper folding; modular arithmetic and the arithmetic of the infinite. The final chapter presents some ideas about how mathematics should be done, and hence, how it should be taught. Presenting many recent discoveries that lead to interesting open questions, the book can serve as the main text in courses dealing with contemporary mathematical topics or as enrichment for other courses. It can also be read with pleasure by anyone interested in the intellectually intriguing aspects of mathematics.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: From the Back Cover The purpose of this book is to show what mathematics is about, how it is done, and what it is good for. The relaxed and informal presentation conveys the joy of mathematical discovery and insight and makes it clear that mathematics can be an exciting and engrossing activity. Frequent questions lead the reader to see mathematics as an accessible world of thought, where understanding can turn opaque formulae into beautiful and meaningful ideas. Presenting many recent discoveries that lead to interesting open questions, the book can serve as the main text in courses dealing with contemporary mathematical topics (for mathematics students or for prospective or in-service mathematics teachers) or as enrichment for other courses. It can also be read with pleasure on its own by anyone interested in the intellectually intriguing aspects of mathematics.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐If you have trouble understanding and particularly visualizing what mathematical formulae mean. If you have a belief that all mathematical concepts CAN be visualized if only mathematicians tried hard enough. If you like math books but wish there were more pictures. If you wish there were instructions on things to do in Math books other than write out formulae and solutions. If you want hope that there’s new and exciting stuff out there that you can find by doing things with paper other than writing on it. THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. A particularly interesting section on how to generate the Cantor Set by Geometric iteration using the tent map and a good explanation of sets related to the Cantor set and the general relationship of things like the Cantor Set to more complicated fractals. One of the most interesting books I have eever read vastly increased my understanding and provided me with valuable ideas to furthur my own creative efforts. Well done HHandP I look forward to the new book.

⭐

Keywords

Free Download Mathematical Reflections: In a Room with Many Mirrors (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) in PDF format
Mathematical Reflections: In a Room with Many Mirrors (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) PDF Free Download
Download Mathematical Reflections: In a Room with Many Mirrors (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) 1996 PDF Free
Mathematical Reflections: In a Room with Many Mirrors (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) 1996 PDF Free Download
Download Mathematical Reflections: In a Room with Many Mirrors (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) PDF
Free Download Ebook Mathematical Reflections: In a Room with Many Mirrors (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics)