Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Invitation to Mathematics

Invitation to Mathematics

Jacobs, Konrad

Paperback

General Mathematics

ISBN10: 0691025282
ISBN13: 9780691025285
Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr
Published: Aug 2 1992
Pages: 264
Weight: 1.10
Height: 0.86 Width: 6.38 Depth: 9.53
Language: English

Based on a well-received course designed for philosophy students, this book is an informal introduction to mathematical thinking. The work will be rewarding not only for philosophers concerned with mathematical questions but also for serious amateur mathematicians with an interest in the frontiers as well as the foundations of mathematics. In what might be termed a sampler of the discipline, Konrad Jacobs discusses an unusually wide range of topics, including such items of contemporary interest as knot theory, optimization theory, and dynamical systems. Using Euclidean geometry and algebra to introduce the mathematical mode of thought, the author then turns to recent developments. In the process he offers what he calls a Smithsonian of mathematical showpieces the five Platonic Solids, the Mbius Strip, the Cantor Discontinuum, the Peano Curve, Reidemeister's Knot Table, the plane ornaments, Alexander's Horned Sphere, and Antoine's Necklace. The treatments of geometry and algebra are followed by a chapter on induction and one on optimization, game theory, and mathematical economics. The chapter on topology includes a discussion of topological spaces and continuous mappings, curves and knots, Euler's polyhedral formula for surfaces, and the fundamental group. The last chapter deals with dynamics and contains material on the Game of Life, circle rotation, Smale's horseshoe, and stability and instability, among other topics.

Also in

General Mathematics

View All