Overview

This 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 2011 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 ...

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The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011

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Overview

This 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 2011 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 Ian Hacking discusses the salient features that distinguish mathematics from other disciplines of the mind; Doris Schattschneider identifies some of the mathematical inspirations of M. C. Escher's art; Jordan Ellenberg describes compressed sensing, a mathematical field that is reshaping the way people use large sets of data; Erica Klarreich reports on the use of algorithms in the job market for doctors; 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 physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us--and where it is headed.

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Editorial Reviews

New York Journal of Books
This wonderful book is not just a collection of essays; there are also references including a list of notable texts, links to mathematics websites, and biographies of the contributors, which may prove to be as valuable to the reader as the essays themselves. The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011 cannot be recommended highly enough!
— Robert Schaefer
European Mathematical Society
I invite the reader of this review to read the book; it contains many more interesting aspects of the interplay between mathematics and the real life than the ones I can explain.
Organiser
The volume is a single-shot source to keep in touch with all that is going on in the world of mathematics.
— Vaidehi Nathan
International Mathematical News
To my mind, though, there is circumstantial evidence that the contributions in this booklet are pretty close to what the title promises. This volume is the very ticket for any mathematician and—beyond that—for anybody who enjoys a sense of delight in the beauty of writing.
— J. Lang
New York Journal of Books - Robert Schaefer
This wonderful book is not just a collection of essays; there are also references including a list of notable texts, links to mathematics websites, and biographies of the contributors, which may prove to be as valuable to the reader as the essays themselves. The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011 cannot be recommended highly enough!
Organiser - Vaidehi Nathan
The volume is a single-shot source to keep in touch with all that is going on in the world of mathematics.
International Mathematical News - J. Lang
To my mind, though, there is circumstantial evidence that the contributions in this booklet are pretty close to what the title promises. This volume is the very ticket for any mathematician and—beyond that—for anybody who enjoys a sense of delight in the beauty of writing.
Library Journal
Pitici (mathematics, Ithaca Coll.) has brought together 26 essays by new and established mathematicians, all published in 2010. The second book in the annual series, it covers an eclectic range of mathematical themes including philosophy, education, history, art, physics, and finance. This anthology is best described as a collection of recreational and popular mathematical works, postulations, and opinion pieces. Essays are written for a general audience and do not require a mathematic background. What constitutes the best writing is subjective, and the use of the term is questionable. Although most of these essays are entertaining and informative, it's difficult to imagine this book's true readership, especially because a significant number of the pieces are easily found on the Internet or in academic online collections. VERDICT While a noble effort by Pitici to collect and publish representative works in mathematics for a wider audience, this book is of limited use to academic or general readers.—Ian D. Gordon, Brock Univ. Lib., St. Catharines, Ont.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781400839544
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press
  • Publication date: 11/7/2011
  • Series: Best Writing on Mathematics
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 414
  • Sales rank: 1,217,126
  • File size: 4 MB

Meet the Author

Mircea Pitici is a PhD candidate in mathematics education at Cornell University. He teaches mathematics courses and writing seminars at Cornell and Ithaca College.
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