Mathematics: The Science of Patterns: The Search for Order in Life, Mind and the Universe - Softcover

Devlin, Keith

  • 4.10 out of 5 stars
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9780805073447: Mathematics: The Science of Patterns: The Search for Order in Life, Mind and the Universe
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0805073442 ISBN 13: 9780805073447
Publisher: Henry Holt, 2003

Synopsis


To most people, mathematics means working with numbers. But as Keith Devlin shows in Mathematics: The Science of Patterns, this definition has been out of date for nearly 2,500 years. Mathematicians now see their work as the study of patterns—real or imagined, visual or mental, arising from the natural world or from within the human mind.

Using this basic definition as his central theme, Devlin explores the patterns of counting, measuring, reasoning, motion, shape, position, and prediction, revealing the powerful influence mathematics has over our perception of reality. Interweaving historical highlights and current developments, and using a minimum of formulas, Devlin celebrates the precision, purity, and elegance of mathematics.

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About the Author


Keith Devlin is Dean of the School of Science at Saint Mary's College of California and Senior Researcher at Stanford University's Center for the Study of Language and Information. He is the author of Logic and Information, and Mathematics: The New Golden Age and Goodbye, Descartes.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Henry Holt
Publication date
2003
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0805073442
ISBN 13 
9780805073447
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
216
Rating
  • 4.10 out of 5 stars
    98 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780716750475: Mathematics: The Science of Patterns : The Search for Order in Life, Mind, and the Universe (Scientific American Library)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0716750473 ISBN 13:  9780716750475
Publisher: W H Freeman & Co, 1994
Hardcover