Princeton University Press
The Best Writing on Mathematics 2010
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About this book
The year’s most memorable writing on mathematics
This anthology brings together the year's finest writing on mathematics from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in mathematics, The Best Writing on Mathematics makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else—and you don't need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today's hottest mathematical debates. Here readers will discover why Freeman Dyson thinks some mathematicians are birds while others are frogs; why Keith Devlin believes there's more to mathematics than proof; what Nick Paumgarten has to say about the timing patterns of New York City's traffic lights (and why jaywalking is the most mathematically efficient way to cross Sixty-sixth Street); what Samuel Arbesman can tell us about the epidemiology of the undead in zombie flicks; and much, much more.
In addition to presenting the year's most memorable writing on mathematics, this must-have anthology also includes a foreword by esteemed mathematician William Thurston and an informative introduction by Mircea Pitici. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us—and where it's headed.
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Topics
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Frontmatter
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Contents
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Foreword
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Introduction
xv - Mathematics Alive
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The Role of the Untrue in Mathematics
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Desperately Seeking Mathematical Proof
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An Enduring Error
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What Is Experimental Mathematics
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What Is Information-Based Complexity
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What Is Financial Mathematics
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If Mathematics Is a Language, How Do You Swear in It
47 - Mathematicians and the Practice of Mathematics
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Birds and Frogs
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Mathematics Is Not a Game But . . .
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Massively Collaborative Mathematics
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Bridging the Two Cultures: Paul Valéry
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A Hidden Praise of Mathematics
99 - Mathematics and Its Applications
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Mathematics and the Internet: A Source of Enormous Confusion and Great Potential
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The Higher Arithmetic: How to Count to a Zillion without Falling Off the End of the Number Line
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Knowing When to Stop: How to Gamble If You Must—The Mathematics of Optimal Stopping
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Homology: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
158 - Mathematics Education
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Adolescent Learning and Secondary Mathematics
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Accommodations of Learning Disabilities in Mathematics Courses
175 -
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Audience, Style and Criticism
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Aesthetics as a Liberating Force in Mathematics Education
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Mathematics Textbooks and Their Potential Role in Supporting Misconceptions
236 -
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Exploring Curvature with Paper Models
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Intuitive vs Analytical Thinking: Four Perspectives
260 - History and Philosophy of Mathematics
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Why Did Lagrange “Prove” the Parallel Postulate
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Kronecker’s Algorithmic Mathematics
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Indiscrete Variations on Gian-Carlo Rota’s Themes
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Circle Packing: A Personal Reminiscence
330 -
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Applying Inconsistent Mathematics
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Why Do We Believe Theorems
358 - Mathematics in the Media
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Mathematicians Solve 45-Year-Old Kervaire Invariant Puzzle
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Darwin: The Reluctant Mathematician
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Loves Me, Loves Me Not (Do the Math)
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The Mysterious Equilibrium of Zombies and Other Things Mathematicians See at the Movies
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Strength in Numbers: On Mathematics and Musical Rhythm
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Math-hattan
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Contributors
395 -
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Acknowledgments
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Credits
405