1089 and All That: A Journey into Mathematics

by David Acheson

Overview

David Acheson's extraordinary little book makes mathematics accessible to everyone. From very simple beginnings he takes us on a thrilling journey to some deep mathematical ideas. On the way, via Kepler and Newton, he explains what calculus really means, gives a brief history of pi, and even takes us to chaos theory and imaginary numbers. Every short chapter is carefully crafted to ensure that no one will get lost on the journey. Packed with puzzles and illustrated by world famous cartoonists, this is one of the most readable and imaginative books on mathematics ever written.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191500381
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	07/18/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

David Acheson is Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics at Jesus College, Oxford. He was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2004 for his 'outstanding contributions to teaching and learning', and was President of the Mathematical Association for 2010-11. He gives many popular maths lectures to the general public, of all ages, and these often end with a short demonstration of maths applied to the electric guitar. He is also author of From Calculus to Chaos (OUP 1997) and Elementary Fluid Dynamics (OUP 1990).

Table of Contents

1. 1089 and All That
2. "In Love with Geometrie"
3. But ... that's Absurd ...
4. The Trouble with Algebra
5. The Heavens in Motion
6. All Change!
7. On Being as Small as Possible
8. "Are We Nearly There?"
9. A Brief History of pi
10. Good Vibrations
11. Great Mistakes
12. What is the Secret of All Life?
13. e=2.718 ...
14. Chaos and Catastrophe
15. Not Quite the Indian Rope Trick
16. Real or Imaginary?