How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums by Ian Stewart (PDF)

Description

Welcome back to Ian Stewart’s magical world of mathematics! Here are twenty more curious puzzles and fantastical mathematical stories from one of the world’s most popular and accessible writers on mathematics. This is a strange world of never-ending chess games, empires on the moon, furious fireflies, and, of course, disputes over how best to cut a cake. Each chapter–with titles such as, “How to Play Poker By Post” and “Repealing the Law of Averages”–presents a fascinating mathematical puzzle that is challenging, fun, and introduces the reader to a significant mathematical problem in an engaging and witty way. Illustrated with clever and quirky cartoons, each tale will delight those who love puzzles and mathematical conundrums.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at Warwick University, and Director of the Mathematics Awareness Centre at Warwick. An active research mathematician, he is well-known for popularizing mathematics and science for the public. A Fellow of the Royal Society, his many books include Evolving the Alien (with Jack Cohen), What Shape is a Snowflake?, and Does God Play Dice?.

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

⭐From 1987 until 2001, Ian Stewart wrote columns for Scientific American magazine and its foreign-language editions. This book is a collection of twenty of those columns including the last one he wrote, Easter is a Quasicrystal.I suppose there is no way getting around the comparisons with Martin Gardner who originated the column. Be aware that they are two, very different writers but both share the goal of presenting how interesting math can be. From both you get the idea that math doesn’t have to be a dry, dull subject.There are two chapters that the book’s title refer to, ‘Your Half’s Bigger than My Half’ and ‘Division without Envy’. We all know how to divide something between two people. One cuts the cake in two and the other gets first choice of the pieces. But what happens when you have more than two people? Is there a way of dividing so everyone feels they have received their fair share?Many recreational subjects are covered such as paradoxes, moves on a chess board, map coloring and Sierpinski’s Gasket. The author often takes these into real world applications. In the chapter ‘Why Phone Cords Get tangled’, Stewart mentions that DNA is also a helix, a double helix no less, and has some of the same things happening.Stewart is good at showing the reader around, poking here and there and finding out what subjects there are. If something seems especially interesting, further readings are suggested. His style is assessable and humorous and provides a fun read.

⭐This book contains some mathematical puzzles. It would be fun reading for some people. But for those serious mathematical geek, this book might be too easy and not that fun.

⭐OK

⭐I like the approach given in this book.

⭐Good

⭐not bad

⭐I haven’t read all of the book (I’m keeping it to dip into), but it didn’t take long to discover that it’s typical of Ian Stewart’s work: clever, intriguing, and with a fair amount of quirky humour (which appeals to me strongly). I haven’t come across any science fictional references yet, but I’ve no doubt I shall. Recommended to anyone with an inquiring mind and a liking for mathematical oddities.

Keywords

Free Download How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums in PDF format
How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums PDF Free Download
Download How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums 2006 PDF Free
How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums 2006 PDF Free Download
Download How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums PDF
Free Download Ebook How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums