A revolutionary book from the stand-up mathematician that makes math fun again--now in paperback

Math is boring, says the mathematician and comedian Matt Parker. Part of the problem may be the way the subject is taught, but it's also true that we all, to a greater or lesser extent, find math difficult and counterintuitive. This counterintuitiveness is actually part of the point, argues Parker: the extraordinary thing about math is that it allows us to access logic and ideas beyond what our brains can instinctively do--through its logical tools we are able to reach beyond our innate abilities and grasp more and more abstract concepts.
In the absorbing and exhilarating Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension, Parker sets out to convince his readers to revisit the very math that put them off the subject as fourteen-year-olds. Starting with the foundations of math familiar from school (numbers, geometry, and algebra), he takes us on a grand tour, from four dimensional shapes, knot theory, the mysteries of prime numbers, optimization algorithms, and the math behind barcodes and iPhone screens to the different kinds of infinity--and slightly beyond.
Both playful and sophisticated, Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension is filled with captivating games and puzzles, a buffet of optional hands-on activities that entice us to take pleasure in mathematics at all levels. Parker invites us to relearn much of what baffled us in school and, this time, to be utterly enthralled by it.

Whether discussing hexaflexagons or number theory, Klein bottles or the essence of nothing, Martin Gardner has single-handedly created the field of recreational mathematics. The Colossal Book of Mathematics collects together Gardner's most popular pieces from his legendary Mathematical Games column, which ran in Scientific American for twenty-five years. Gardner's array of absorbing puzzles and mind-twisting paradoxes opens mathematics up to the world at large, inspiring people to see past numbers and formulas and experience the application of mathematical principles to the mysterious world around them. With articles on topics ranging from simple algebra to the twisting surfaces of Mobius strips, from an endless game of Bulgarian solitaire to the unreachable dream of time travel, this volume comprises a substantial and definitive monument to Gardner's influence on mathematics, science, and culture.

In its twelve sections, The Colossal Book of Math explores a wide range of areas, each startlingly illuminated by Gardner's incisive expertise. Beginning with seemingly simple topics, Gardner expertly guides us through complicated and wondrous worlds: by way of basic algebra we contemplate the mesmerizing, often hilarious, linguistic and numerical possibilities of palindromes; using simple geometry, he dissects the principles of symmetry upon which the renowned mathematical artist M. C. Escher constructs his unique, dizzying universe. Gardner, like few thinkers today, melds a rigorous scientific skepticism with a profound artistic and imaginative impulse. His stunning exploration of The Church of the Fourth Dimension, for example, bridges the disparate worlds of religion and science by brilliantly imagining the spatial possibility of God's presence in the world as a fourth dimension, at once everywhere and nowhere.

With boundless wisdom and his trademark wit, Gardner allows the reader to further engage challenging topics like probability and game theory which have plagued clever gamblers, and famous mathematicians, for centuries. Whether debunking Pascal's wager with basic probability, making visual music with fractals, or uncoiling a knotted doughnut with introductory topology, Gardner continuously displays his fierce intelligence and gentle humor. His articles confront both the comfortingly mundane--Generalized Ticktacktoe and Sprouts and Brussel Sprouts--and the quakingly abstract--Hexaflexagons, Nothing, and Everything. He navigates these staggeringly obscure topics with a deft intelligence and, with addendums and suggested reading lists, he informs these classic articles with new insight.

Admired by scientists and mathematicians, writers and readers alike, Gardner's vast knowledge and burning curiosity reveal themselves on every page. The culmination of a lifelong devotion to the wonders of mathematics, The Colossal Book of Mathematics is the largest and most comprehensive math book ever assembled by Gardner and remains an indispensable volume for the amateur and expert alike.

For more than twenty-five years, Martin Gardner was Scientific American's renowned provocateur of popular math. His yearly gatherings of short and inventive problems were easily his most anticipated math columns. Loyal readers would savor the wit and elegance of his explorations in physics, probability, topology, and chess, among others. Grouped by subject and arrayed from easiest to hardest, the puzzles gathered here, which complement the lengthier, more involved problems in The Colossal Book of Mathematics, have been selected by Gardner for their illuminating; and often bewildering; solutions. Filled with over 300 illustrations, this new volume even contains nine new mathematical gems that Gardner, now ninety, has been gathering for the last decade. No amateur or expert math lover should be without this indispensable volume; a capstone to Gardner's seventy-year career.

Las grandes ideas matemáticas explicadas gráficamente. Un libro original y sorprendente que derriba el mito de la dificultad.

Un libro de mates que ha agotado su primera edición en todos lados, que ha sido recomendado en medios de todo el país, que es imparable.

Aquí algunas de las cosas que se han dicho de él:

«Un libro que da la vuelta a las matemáticas como ásperas e incomprensibles y nos devuelven su belleza . LA VENTANA, Cadena SER

«Maccarrone demuestra que podemos explicar el mundo con los números como hacemos con el arte, conjugando la poesía de los números con el mundo invisible y su reflejo en la naturaleza . Montero Gonzalez, EL PAIS

«Un libro innovador y original, que parte de las bases más sencillas de las matemáticas desde una perspectiva llena de imaginación y magia con la que atrapa a cualquier lector . EL OJO CRÍTICO, RNE

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Great mathematical concepts explained in pictures. An original and surprising book that torpedoes the myth that math is too difficult for most of us to understand.

With stellar reviews in the national media and a sold-out first edition, this is a math book like no other.

Here is some of what people have been saying:

A book that overturns the idea of math as dry and incomprehensible, revealing its beauty. LA VENTANA, Cadena SER

Maccarrone shows that we can explain the world with math, as we do with art, by conjoining the poetry of numbers with the invisible world and its reflection in nature. Montero Gonzalez, EL PAIS

Bestselling math writer Alex Bellos has a challenge for you: 125 of the world's best brainteasers from the last two millennia.

Armed with logic alone, you'll detect counterfeit coins, navigate river crossings, and untangle family trees. Then--with just a dash of high school math--you'll tie a rope around the Earth, match wits with a cryptic wizard, and use four 4s to create every number from 1 to 50. (It can be done!)

The ultimate casebook for daring puzzlers, Can You Solve My Problems? also tells the story of the puzzle--from ancient China to Victorian England to modern-day Japan. Grab your pencil and get puzzling!

A renowned puzzle master and game inventor presents 315 new and traditional puzzles.

Longlisted, 2016 School Library Association Information Book Award 12+

A great read for anyone interested in puzzles or mathematics. --Publishers Weekly

Gift Guide Selection 2015. Moscovich, a celebrated puzzle inventor, makes a compelling case for puzzle solving as a means of developing creativity and even intelligence. --American Scientist

The Puzzle Universe is a quixotic, informative and enlightening encyclopedia of recreational mathematics. It should prove to be an inspiration to mathematical idlers, and a rich resource for learners and teachers who wish to be attuned to the playful and creative side of mathematics. --Mathrecreation Blog

The Puzzle Universe is intended for general readers and devoted puzzlers but it has also found its way into school libraries and curricula. It is about the latent beauty of mathematics, its history and the puzzles that have emerged from the science of numbers. It is full of challenging historical facts, thinking puzzles, paradoxes, illusions and problem solving.

A historical and pedagogical dimension sets The Puzzle Universe apart. The 315 puzzles are described in extended captions that explain in easy terms the story of the puzzles' origins and attempts to solve them, the value of puzzles to education, and the development of the mathematical sciences in light of recent research and unmet challenges. There are many profiles of great mathematicians.

The puzzles appear in a dynamic layout for a visual experience that is the author's trademark. There are ten chapters complete with answers. Icons rate the challenge and indicate the tools needed (pencil, scissors, ruler and, of course, your thinking cap).

With this book, Ivan Moscovich invites readers to join him in the puzzle universe, an edifying environment of creative discovery, problem solving and fun.

Deals in a very entertaining way with problems in normal life related to mathematics, luck, coincidence, gambling. ? The Independent (London)

Why do your chances of winning the lottery increase if you buy your ticket on Friday? Why do traffic lights always seem to be red when you?re in a hurry? Is bad luck just chance, or can it be explained?

The intriguing answers to these and other questions about the curiosities of everyday life can be found in this delightfully irreverent and highly informative book. Why Do Buses Come in Threes? explains how math and the laws of probability are constantly at work in our lives, affecting everything we do, from getting a date to catching a bus to cooking dinner. With great humor and a genuine love for the subject, Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham present solutions to such conundrums as how fast one should run in the rain to stay dry and who was the greatest sportsman of all time.Discover the mathematical explanations for the strange coincidence of two.

Presidents dying on July 4, the uncanny accuracy of horoscopes, and other not-so-coincidental coincidences. Eastaway and Wyndham also reveal how television ratings work, which numbers are more likely to be big winners in the lottery, and why bad things, just like buses, always seem to happen in threes.

Whether you have a degree in astrophysics or haven't touched a math problem since high school, this book sends you on a fascinating journey through the logic of life where Newton's laws explain bar fights, exploding rabbit populations, and why showers always run either too hot or too cold. Why Do Buses Come in Threes? is a delightfully entertaining ride that reveals the relevance of math in absolutely everything we do.

The most original, most profound, and most humorous collection of recreational logic and math problems ever written. -- Martin Gardner, Scientific American
The value of the book lies in the wealth of ingenious puzzles. They afford amusement, vigorous exercise, and instruction. -- Willard Van Orman Quine, The New York Times Book Review
If you're intrigued by puzzles and paradoxes, these 200 mind-bending logic puzzles, riddles, and diversions will thrill you with challenges to your powers of reason and common sense. Raymond M. Smullyan -- a celebrated mathematician, logician, magician, and author -- presents a logical labyrinth of more than 200 increasingly complex problems. The puzzles delve into Gödel's undecidability theorem and other examples of the deepest paradoxes of logic and set theory. Detailed solutions follow each puzzle.

This book contains numerous logical baseball puzzles. To jump in, all you need is logic and a casual fan's knowledge of the game. The puzzles are solved by reasoning from the rules of the game and a few facts. The puzzles offer a unique and scintillating connection between abstract logic and gritty reality.

Malba Tahan is the creation of a celebrated Brazilian mathematician looking for a way to bring some of the mysteries and pleasures of mathematics to a wider public. The adventures of Beremiz Samir, The Man Who Counted, take the reader on a journey in which, time and again, Samir summons his extraordinary mathematical powers to settle disputes, give wise advice, overcome dangerous enemies, and win for himself fame, fortune, and rich rewards. We learn of previous mathematicians and come to admire Samir's wisdom and patience. In the grace of Tahan's telling, these stories hold unusual delights for the reader.

Playing Samurai Sudoku is not just a fun way to pass the time, due to its logical elements it has been found as a proven method of exercising and stimulating portions of your brain, training it even if you will and just like training any other muscle regularly you can expect to see an improvement in cognitive functions. Some studies go as far as indicating regular puzzles can even help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and other health problems in later life.

This Samurai Sudoku Logic Puzzles book is packed with the following features:

- 500 Medium Sudoku puzzles overlapping into 100 Samurai style.

- Answers to every puzzle are provided at the back of the book.

- Each puzzle is guaranteed to have only one solution.

- One puzzle per page (8.5 x 11 inches) and large print font for the prevention of eye-strain.

- Includes free bonus puzzles you can download book (Tons of Sudoku Puzzles for Adults & Seniors)

- Includes free bonus puzzles you can download book (Word Search With Hidden Message: 102 Puzzles for Adults and Seniors)

Play some Paper & Pencil Games for fun -- Tic-Tac-Toe & Dots and Boxes (Noughts & Crosses or X's & O's) & Hangman & Connect Four
Simple Easy Fun for the Family -play together and Challenge your friends .

Paper & Pencil Games is a 2 player activity book filled fun games to play on the go.
Pass Time on Journeys or Holiday Festive fun for Kids, teens and Adults .

book description: -

• 8.5 X 11
• 200 Pages
• glossy Cover
• High Quality White Paper
• 50 paper for every game so 200 paper for 4 games .

Perfect and wonderful gift for everyone .
Scroll up, click on Buy Now with 1-Click, and Get Your Copy Now

Get ready to see the amazing results of completing this fun and challenging extreme dot-to-dot book for adults.

Are you a fan of dot-to-dot books?

This dot-to-dot activity book challenges the brain and keeps the mental focus sharp. If you like extreme dot-to-dot books, you will not be disappointed with the illustrations of this book.

This book is created for those who love extreme dot-to-dots. If you want to challenge yourself, try this book. Whether it's for you, a gift for that puzzle-loving friend, or relatives.

Don't wait any longer, buy this book now and start enjoying it.

Did you know that crossword puzzles can improve mental activity in patients suffering from dementia and other brain disorders? The reason is because you would need to rack your brain to solve the puzzles. Racking your brain would mean thinking clearly in an attempt to attack each trivia using logic and creativity. This book comes in large print for better visibility. Grab a copy today

Mathematics of Tabletop Games provides a bridge between mathematics and hobby tabletop gaming. Instead of focusing on games mathematicians play, such as nim and chomp, this book starts with the tabletop games played by avid gamers and hopes to address the question: which field of mathematics concerns itself with this situation?

Readers interested in either mathematics or tabletop games will find this book an engaging way to begin exploring the other topic or the connection between the topics.

Features

• Presents an entry-level exposition of interesting mathematical concepts that are not commonly taught outside of upper-level mathematics courses
• Acts as a resource for mathematics instructors who wish to provide new examples of standard mathematical concepts
• Features material that may help game designers and developers make design decisions about game mechanisms
• Provides working Python code that can be used to solve common questions about games
• Covers a broad range of mathematical topics that could be used as survey material for undergraduates curious about mathematics.

Celebrate diversity, math, and the power of storytelling!

Twins Lia and Luís have received a secret puzzle from their grandma! Can they put it together to read the hidden message? A playful exploration of geometry and sorting featuring Brazilian American characters and a glossary of Brazilian Portuguese words.

Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Research in mathematics is much more than solving puzzles, but most people will agree that solving puzzles is not just fun: it helps focus the mind and increases one's armory of techniques for doing mathematics. Mathematical Puzzles makes this connection explicit by isolating important mathematical methods, then using them to solve puzzles and prove a theorem.

This Revised Edition has been thoroughly edited to correct errors and provide clarifications, and includes some totally different solutions, modified puzzles, and one entirely new puzzle.

Features

• A collection of the world's best mathematical puzzles
• Each chapter features a technique for solving mathematical puzzles, examples, and finally a genuine theorem of mathematics that features that technique in its proof
• Puzzles that are entertaining, mystifying, paradoxical, and satisfying; they are not just exercises or contest problems.

Wouldn't it be great if all school teachers (from kindergarten through high school) would share the joy of mathematics with their students, rather than focus only on the prescribed curriculum that will subsequently be tested? This book reveals some of the wonders of mathematics that are often missing from classrooms. Here's your chance to catch up with the math gems you may have missed.Using jargon-free language and many illustrations, the authors--all veteran math educators--explore five areas--arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability, and the ways in which mathematics can reinforce common sense. Among other things, you'll learn the rule of 72, which enables you to quickly determine how long it will take your bank account to double its value at a specific interest rate. Other handy techniques include an automatic algorithm for multiplying numbers mentally and a clever application that will allow you to convert from miles to kilometers (or the reverse) mentally. A delightful presentation of geometric novelties reveals relationships that could have made your study of geometry more fun and enlightening. In the area of probability there is a host of interesting examples: from the famous Monty-Hall problem to the counterintuitive probability of two people having the same birthday in a crowded room.Finally, the authors demonstrate how math will make you a better thinker by improving your organizing abilities and providing useful and surprising solutions to common mathematics problems. You'll come away with an appreciation for math you never thought possible and a true appreciation for this queen of the sciences.

Transform your child's experience of math!

Filled with stories and illustrations, Let's Play Math offers a practical, activity-filled exploration of what it means to learn math. A mixture of educational philosophy, inspiration, and coffee-chat wisdom.

Bestselling author Denise Gaskins provides helpful tips for all families with children from preschool or high school, whether they are homeschooling, unschooling, or attending a traditional classroom.

Even if you struggled with math in school, you can help your kids practice mental math skills, master the basic facts, and ask the kind of questions that encourage deeper thought.

Sections include:

• How to Understand Math: Introduce your children to the thrill of conquering a challenge. Build deep understanding by thinking, playing, and asking questions like a mathematician.
• Playful Problem Solving: Awaken your children's minds to the beauty and wonder of mathematics. Discover the social side of math, and learn games for players of all ages.
• Math with Living Books: See how mathematical ideas ebb and flow through the centuries with this brief tour through history. Can your kids solve puzzles from China, India, or Ancient Egypt?
• Let's Get Practical: Fit math into your family's daily life, help your children develop mental calculation skills, and find out what to try when your child struggles.
• Resources and References: With so many library books and Internet sites, you'll never run out of playful mathematical adventures.

All parents and teachers share one goal: we want our children to understand and be able to use math. Your children will gain a strong foundation when you approach math as a family game, playing with ideas.

Don't let your children suffer from the epidemic of math anxiety. Grab a copy of Let's Play Math, and start enjoying math today.

In 1884, Edwin Abbott Abbott wrote a mathematical adventure set in a two-dimensional plane world, populated by a hierarchical society of regular geometrical figures-who think and speak and have all too human emotions. Since then Flatland has fascinated generations of readers, becoming a perennial science-fiction favorite. By imagining the contact of beings from different dimensions, the author fully exploited the power of the analogy between the limitations of humans and those of his two-dimensional characters.

A first-rate fictional guide to the concept of multiple dimensions of space, the book will also appeal to those who are interested in computer graphics. This field, which literally makes higher dimensions seeable, has aroused a new interest in visualization. We can now manipulate objects in four dimensions and observe their three-dimensional slices tumbling on the computer screen. But how do we interpret these images? In his introduction, Thomas Banchoff points out that there is no better way to begin exploring the problem of understanding higher-dimensional slicing phenomena than reading this classic novel of the Victorian era.