The best writing on mathematics 2012 / Mircea Pitici, editor ; foreword by David Mumford.

Includes bibliographical references.

This annual anthology brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field. The Best Writing on Mathematics 2012 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 Robert Lang explains mathematical aspects of origami foldings; Terence Tao discusses the frequency and distribution of the prime numbers; Timothy Gowers and Mario Livio ponder whether mathematics is invented or discovered; Brian Hayes describes what is special about a ball in five dimensions; Mark Colyvan glosses on the mathematics of dating; and much, much more. In addition to presenting the year's most memorable writings on mathematics, this must-have anthology includes a foreword by esteemed mathematician David Mumford and an introduction by the editor Mircea Pitici. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us--and where it is headed.

Print version record.

Foreword: The Synergy of Pure and Applied Mathematics, of the Abstract and the Concrete / David Mumford -- Introduction / Mircea Pitici -- Why Math Works / Mario Livio -- Is Mathematics Discovered or Invented? / Timothy Gowers -- The Unplanned Impact of Mathematics / Peter Rowlett -- An Adventure in the Nth Dimension / Brian Hayes -- Structure and Randomness in the Prime Numbers / Terence Tao -- The Strangest Numbers in String Theory / John C. Baez and John Huerta -- Mathematics meets Photography: The Viewable Sphere / David Swart and Bruce Torrence -- Dancing Mathematics and the Mathematics of Dance / Sarah-Marie Belcastro and Karl Schaffer -- Can One Hear the Sound of a Theorem? / Rob Schneiderman -- Flat-Unfoldability and Woven Origami Tesselations / Robert J. Lang -- A Continuous Path from High School Calculus to University Analysis / Timothy Gowers -- Mathematics Teacher's Subtle, Complex Disciplinary Knowledge / Brent Davis -- How to Be a Good Teacher Is an Undecidable Problem / Erica Flapan -- How Your Philosophy of Mathematics Impacts Your Teaching / Bonnie Gold -- Variables in Mathematics Education / Susanna S. Epp -- Bottom Line on Mathematics Education / David Mumford and Sol Garfunkel -- History of Mathematics and History of Science Reunited? / Jeremy Gray -- Augustus de Morgan behind the Scenes / Charlotte Simons -- Routing Problems: A Historical Perspective / Giuseppe Bruno, Andrea Genovese, and Gennaro Improta -- The Cycloid and Jean Bernoulli / Gerald L. Alexanderson -- Was Cantor Surprised? / Fernando Q. Gouvêa -- Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics at All? / Ian Hacking -- Ultimate Logic: To Infinity and Beyond / Richard Elwes -- Mating, Dating, and Mathematics: It's All in the Game / Mark Colyvan.

English.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide