The New York Times Book of Mathematics: More Than 100 Years of Writing by the Numbers by Gina Kolata (PDF)

Description

From the archives of the worlds most famous newspaper comes a collection of its very best writing on mathematics. Big and informative, The New York Times Book of Mathematics gathers more than 110 articles written from 1892 to 2010 that cover statistics, coincidences, chaos theory, famous problems, cryptography, computers, and many other topics. Edited by Pulitzer Prize finalist and senior Times writer Gina Kolata, and featuring renowned contributors such as James Gleick, William L. Laurence, Malcolm W. Browne, George Johnson, and John Markoff, its a must-have for any math and science enthusiast!

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “From party conversation fodder to the esoteric, topics and authors appear and reappear all in the articulate, clever voice that can be expected from the New York Times…Many fascinating problems are explained in language that the layperson will understand, without relying on equations; those with more than a passing interest in mathematics will find many topics of interest worthy of further reading. This compilation of real-world applications will interest those with an inclination toward mathematics or problem-solving.” —Publishers Weekly “Collecting articles of a mathematics bent from three centuries of pieces found in America’s most celebrated daily newspapers, Kolata (senior writer, New York Times, Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Cause It) displays her expertise as an editor in a book that is both a history of modern mathematics—as an academic, social, and political phenomenon—and a Who’s Who of great science/math writers . . . The book is divided into thematic sections and . . . Among topics covered are the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) threats to mathematicians writing papers with code-breaking applications; the celebrated story of Andrew Wiles’s proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem; Grigori Perelman’s confirmation of the Poincare conjecture and his subsequent, Bobby Fischer-like, disappearance. These articles, both feature pieces and news reports, were all written at the time of what they cover, thus offering an immediacy lacking in some popular histories. Some of the pieces included here are important and some are curiosities, but all are absorbing. Verdict: Recommended for casual and serious math enthusiasts.”—Library Journal“From party conversation fodder to the esoteric, topics and authors appear and reappear all in the articulate, clever voice that can be expected from the New York Times…Many fascinating problems are explained in language that the layperson will understand, without relying on equations; those with more than a passing interest in mathematics will find many topics of interest worthy of further reading. This compilation of real-world applications will interest those with an inclination toward mathematics or problem-solving.” —Publishers Weekly “Collecting articles of a mathematics bent from three centuries of pieces found in Americas most celebrated daily newspapers, Kolata (senior writer, New York Times, Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Cause It) displays her expertise as an editor in a book that is both a history of modern mathematics—as an academic, social, and political phenomenon—and a Whos Who of great science/math writers . . . The book is divided into thematic sections and . . . Among topics covered are the National Security Agencys (NSAs) threats to mathematicians writing papers with code-breaking applications; the celebrated story of Andrew Wiless proof of Fermats Last Theorem; Grigori Perelmans confirmation of the Poincare conjecture and his subsequent, Bobby Fischer-like, disappearance. These articles, both feature pieces and news reports, were all written at the time of what they cover, thus offering an immediacy lacking in some popular histories. Some of the pieces included here are important and some are curiosities, but all are absorbing. Verdict: Recommended for casual and serious math enthusiasts.”—Library Journal About the Author Gina Kolata is a senior writer at the New York Times, where she reports on science and medicine; a bestselling author; a frequent lecturer; and a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. She has written several books, including Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss—and the Myths and Realities of Dieting (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), which was a finalist for the Quill book awards, and the national bestseller Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Paul Hoffman is the host of the PBS television series Great Minds of Science and the president and CEO of Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, as well as the author of several books including Kings Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the Worlds Most Dangerous Game (Hyperion) and the international bestseller The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdös and the Search for Mathematical Truth (Hyperion). He was the editor in chief of Discover for 10 years as well as president and publisher of Encyclopedia Britannica, and is a puzzlemaster (under the pseudonym Dr. Crypton) and a class-A level chess player.

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

⭐Regardless of your political thoughts about the left leaning NYT, many very bright people (including conservatives) look forward to certain columns over the years, like chess, the crossword, travel tips, and many science topics from physics to math and astronomy. I start with this because I don’t want you to dismiss this out of hand if you’re not a NYT fan! This is a POLITICS NEUTRAL book, so please don’t deprive yourself of a great read if you don’t, in general, like the NYT.These articles are awesome stories about the greatest math discoveries, people, applications and other “news” over the decades about math. Since this is a newspaper, the stories are written for a bright but non-mathematician audience, and due to the lack of LaTex technology over most of the years, NO complex formulas are given– they are explained in outstanding, intuitive English, and give a LOT of insights and “mental pictures” about complex topics you won’t find anywhere else.On top of being very readable, the “flavor” of the era in which the stories were written is maintained, so you get both a very cool insight about the science, but also a fun and sometimes humorous view of the historical context and mindset, sometimes striking a “universal human” chord that is surprising, but also sometimes anachronistic and really reminiscent of a MUCH simpler, clearer age that will make you smile. The stories go up to 2002, so there is a good amount of complex new math news too, also explained with a unique clarity.Great before bed, airplane, vacation, etc. reading as an alternative to your favorite detective story (yes, some of these columns read like one!), with a little extra education snuck in. Amazon is rapidly integrating audible with Kindle, and you’ll see, in coming months, more and more Kindle books offered with a “let us read it to you” option for a buck or so. Most math books won’t fall into this category (unless you’re a prodigy), but this one definitely would! It’s not on that list yet, but I mention it to give you a feel for the high comfort level of this read.Highly recommended, as is the companion physics volume, enjoy!EMAILERS UPDATE: Many of you have asked about the new physics/astronomy version. It is due out in September 2013, and can be pre-ordered here:

⭐. I haven’t read it, so can’t recommend or comment yet.On your “technical level” questions: most of the articles in this book are at a HIGH level of technology and logic, even though there are few formulas. The writing is crisp, deep and intellectually advanced, but also a page turner (“what will happen next?). NOT a candidate for speed reading. Day traders will find insights in the events leading up to major sea changes, for example, and “torn from the headlines” predictions about the “growing power of the NSA working with the IRS” sound newsy now, but were prescient when written years ago! Wonderful feel of a well produced King novel, thick, great paper and heft; enjoyable for many years– new insights each time you re-read a section. Well indexed too– you investors and researchers can “find your sweet spot” quickly! GREAT GIFT too! I’m anxiously awaiting the physics/cosmology edition after reading (studying?) this one.Library Picks reviews only for the benefit of Amazon shoppers and has nothing to do with Amazon, the authors, manufacturers or publishers of the items we review. We always buy the items we review for the sake of objectivity, and although we search for gems, are not shy about trashing an item if it’s a waste of time or money for Amazon shoppers. If the reviewer identifies herself, her job or her field, it is only as a point of reference to help you gauge the background and any biases.

⭐Articles reveal several interesting persons and topics that might appeal to more than just math majors. I’m enjoying reading this book.

⭐rare combination of depth and readability

⭐This delightful anthology is packed with dozens of short articles by some of the best science writers in the business: Gina Kolata (the editor), James Gleick, George Johnson, and Malcolm Brown. They have the seasoned reporters’ knack for finding the “big story” in among the impenetrable thicket that is modern mathematics — and the skill to convey in non-technical language some sense of its excitement and importance. Since all the articles come from the pages of the Times, you can open the book at random whenever you have a few minutes to spare and come away with the (temporary) feeling that you’re pretty smart after all. For the price the book is a real bargain. Buy it!

⭐I real y enjoyed the reading. I am not doing any hard math right now, however it is helping me to analyze concepts that I can apply at work and to my kids who I am home schooling. I am teaching them to see math from a different perspective…from the abstract to their application in the real world.

⭐This might be enjoyable for someone with less of a familiarity with math as a good intro to 20th century mathematics but someone who has a good basis in math might be a little disappointed.

⭐Nice read. It covers a lot of topics and talks about new discoveries in the world of mathematics. There are very few equations and mostly just text so if you need a little more mathematics you need to find books that are written by mathematicians for mathematicians. i enjoyed it because this book introduces you to a lot of different concepts and you do not have to read it cover to cover to make sense of the subject.

⭐Though the stories are not new, it is good to revisit them. There is always a human side of a major mathematical achievement and the articles in the book tell us about it in a succinct and interesting way. I enjoy the book very much.

⭐Not an obvious choice for teachers of Computing, you might think, a book on mathematics. But this one is fascinating because there are sections on cryptography and computing, as well as odd chapters on interesting topics like random numbers and electronics.The subtitle of the book is More than 100 years of writing by the numbers. In other words, this is a collection of articles taken from the New York Times over the last 100 years. It’s readable for non-mathematicians (well, mostly), and gives you a great historical perspective of how computing – and thinking about computing – has developed over that time.

⭐An excellent collection of bite sized articles on mathematics that appeared in the New York Times over the last 100 years. If you have any interest in maths than this is a perfect companion to dip into at any time.

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