Collins Dictionary of Mathematics by E J Borowski; J M Borwein

$12.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

The Joy of X - A Guided Tour of Mathematics from One to Infinity by Steven Strogatz

$12.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

Award-winning Steven Strogatz, one of the foremost popularisers of maths, has written a witty and fascinating account of maths' most compelling ideas and how, so often, they are an integral part of everyday life. How should you flip your mattress to get the maximum wear out of it? How many people should you date before settling down? How does Google search the internet? Why does the stock market swing so often, and so wildly? Maths is everywhere, often where we don't even realise. Award-winning professor Steven Strogatz acts as our guide as he takes us on a tour of numbers that - unbeknownst to the unitiated - connect pop culture, literature, art, philosophy, current affairs, business and even every day life. In "The Joy of X", Strogatz explains the great ideas of maths - from negative numbers to calculus, fat tails to infinity - with clarity, wit and insight. He is the maths teacher you never had and this book is perfect for the smart and curious, the expert and the beginner. It is suitable for readers of Ian Stewart's Professor Stewart's "Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities", Alex Bellos' "Alex's Adventures in Numberland", Marcus de Sautoy's "The Number Mysteries". ...Show more

Mathematics in the Making by Lancelot Hogben

$15.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: good-very good

Alex's Adventures in Numberland - Despatches from the wonderful world of mathematics by Alex Bellos

$16.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

In this richly entertaining and accessible book, Alex Bellos explodes the myth that maths is best left to the geeks. Covering subjects from adding to algebra, from set theory to statistics, and from logarithms to logical paradoxes, he explains how mathematical ideas underpin just about everything in our lives. Alex explains the surprising geometry of the 50p piece, and the strategy of how best to gamble it in a casino. He shines a light on the mathematical patterns in nature, and on the peculiar predictability of random behavior. He eats a potato crisp whose revolutionary shape was unpalatable to the ancient Greeks, and he shows the deep connections between maths, religion and philosophy. Alex weaves a journey from primary school to university level maths, from ancient history to the computing frontline, and from St Louis, Missouri, to Braintree, Essex. He meets the world's fastest mental calculators in Germany, consults a numerologist in the US desert, meets a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan, and seeks advice from a venerable Hindu sage in India. An unlikely but exhilarating cocktail of history, reportage and mathematical proofs, Alex's dispatches from 'Numberland' show the world of maths to be a much friendlier and more colourful place than you might have imagined. Review: 'Alex's enthusiasm for mathematics shines from every page... deserves to become an instant classic' Ian Stewart, author of PROFESSOR STEWART'S CABINET OF MATHEMATICAL CURIOSITIES 'An unforgettable journey of intellectual discovery, a true transcultural Magical Mystery Tour' Apostolos Doxiadis, author of LOGICOMIX and UNCLE PETROS AND GOLDBACH'S CONJECTURE 'A truly marvellous survey of modern mathematics... a book that would have delighted Lewis Carroll' Martin Gardner, for more than 25 years author of the 'Mathematical Games' column in Scientific American US title : Here's Looking at Euclid First published 2010. ...Show more

Mathematics and the Unexpected by Ivar Ekeland

$10.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

"Not the least unexpected thing about Mathematics and the Unexpected is that a real mathematician should write not just a literate work, but a literary one."--Ian Stewart, New Scientist "In this brief, elegant treatise, assessable to anyone who likes to think, Ivar Ekelund explains some philosophical i mplications of recent mathematics. He examines randomness, the geometry involved in making predictions, and why general trends are easy to project (it will snow in January) but particulars are practically impossible (it will snow from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the 21st)."--Village Voice ...Show more

How the Other Half Thinks - Adventures in Mathematical Reasoning by Sherman Stein

$14.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

Maths enthusiasts aren't necessarily the number-crunching geeks we tend to assume. In fact, they know that maths is about much more than numbers; it is a profoundly philosophical endeavour, as well as a stimulating mental exercise. In How the Other Half Thinks, Sherman Stein emphasizes the creative elem ents of mathematics by exploring some significant mathematical discoveries through simple, intuitive manipulations. With an ingenious technique that uses no algebra or trigonometry, and only a minimum of arithmetic, Stein takes us through the thought process behind some of math's great discoveries and applications. Each chapter begins with a simple question about strings made up of the letters a and b, which leads to other, more profound questions. Along the way, we become familiar with concepts from such fields as topology and probability, and learn how they have led to applications such as codes and radar, computing and even baseball statistics. Recreational and instructive, How the Other Half Thinks should appeal to die-hard maths enthusiasts (of which there are many) as well as those right-brainers who are looking for a way to understand and enjoy maths. ...Show more

Beyond Numeracy - An Uncommon Dictionary of Mathematics by John Allen Paulos

$14.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

The Universal History of Numbers from prehistory to the invention of the computer by Georges Ifrah

$30.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers - The Story of Paul Erdios and the Search for Mathematical Truth by Paul Hoffman

$14.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: very good

The biography of a mathematical genius. Paul Erdos was the most prolific pure mathematician in history and, arguably, the strangest too. 'A mathematical genius of the first order, Paul Erdos was totally obsessed with his subject -- he thought and wrote mathematics for nineteen hours a day until he died. He travelled constantly, living out of a plastic bag and had no interest in food, sex, companionship, art -- all that is usually indispensible to a human life. Paul Hoffman, in this marvellous biography, gives us a vivid and strangely moving portrait of this singular creature, one that brings out not only Erdos's genius and his oddness, but his warmth and sense of fun, the joyfulness of his strange life.' Oliver Sacks For six decades Erdos had no job, no hobbies, no wife, no home; he never learnt to cook, do laundry, drive a car and died a virgin. Instead he travelled the world with his mother in tow, arriving at the doorstep of esteemed mathematicians declaring 'My brain is open'. He travelled until his death at 83, racing across four continents to prove as many theorems as possible, fuelled by a diet of espresso and amphetamines. With more than 1,500 papers written or co-written, ...Show more

The Number Sense - How the Mind Creates Mathematics by Stanislas Dkehaene

$10.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: good

The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry by Jay Hambidge

$10.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Series: Dover Art Instruction | Reading Level: very good

Originally published as a series of lessons in Hambidge's magazine, The Diagonal, this engrossing book explains all the basic principles of dynamic symmetry. Part I covers fundamental rectangles while Part II explains compound rectangles, many of which were taken from or suggested by the analysis of Gre ek art objects. 118 illustrations. ...Show more

Perfect Rigor - A Genius + The Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century by Masha Gessen

$10.00 NZD

Category: Mathematics | Reading Level: good

The story of an eccentric genius named Grigory Perelman, who solved Poincare's Theorem -- one of the seven great mathematical mysteries of the last century -- yet who also refused the million-dollar award in favor of remaining a recluse.