What is Mathematics? An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods - Second Edition

Courant, Richard and Herbert Robbins, Revised by Ian Stewart

ISBN 10: 0195105192 / ISBN 13: 9780195105193

Published by Oxford University Press, New York, 1996

About this Item

Wrappers. White rear cover, illustrated light blue spine and front cover are all clean, bright, and glossy. Book has a slight bump at the tail of the spine and just a trace of rubbing at the head. Light rubbing at the very tips of the outside corners. Binding is straight and tight. Pages are all clean, white, and crisp. 566 pages. Book almost a NF grade, but lacking the sharpness necessary. Tight clean copy.

Seller Inventory # 011468

Bibliographic Details

• Title: What is Mathematics? An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods - Second Edition
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, New York
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195105192
• ISBN 13: 9780195105193
• Binding: Trade Paperback
• Edition: 7th Printing.
• Condition: VG+
• Seller catalogs:
  • Science & Nature

About this title

Synopsis

For more than two thousand years a familiarity with mathematics has been regarded as an indispensable part of the intellectual equipment of every cultured person. Today, unfortunately, the traditional place of mathematics in education is in grave danger. The teaching and learning of mathematics has degenerated into the realm of rote memorization, the outcome of which leads to satisfactory formal ability but does not lead to real understanding or to greater intellectual independence. This new edition of Richard Courant's and Herbert Robbins's classic work seeks to address this problem. Its goal is to put the meaning back into mathematics.

Written for beginners and scholars, for students and teachers, for philosophers and engineers, What is Mathematics?, Second Edition is a sparkling collection of mathematical gems that offers an entertaining and accessible portrait of the mathematical world. Covering everything from natural numbers and the number system to geometrical constructions and projective geometry, from topology and calculus to matters of principle and the Continuum Hypothesis, this fascinating survey allows readers to delve into mathematics as an organic whole rather than an empty drill in problem solving. With chapters largely independent of one another and sections that lead upward from basic to more advanced discussions, readers can easily pick and choose areas of particular interest without impairing their understanding of subsequent parts.

Brought up to date with a new chapter by Ian Stewart, What is Mathematics?, Second Edition offers new insights into recent mathematical developments and describes proofs of the Four-Color Theorem and Fermat's Last Theorem, problems that were still open when Courant and Robbins wrote this masterpiece, but ones that have since been solved.

Formal mathematics is like spelling and grammar--a matter of the correct application of local rules. Meaningful mathematics is like journalism--it tells an interesting story. But unlike some journalism, the story has to be true. The best mathematics is like literature--it brings a story to life before your eyes and involves you in it, intellectually and emotionally. What is Mathematics is like a fine piece of literature--it opens a window onto the world of mathematics for anyone interested to view.

About the Author

The late Richard Courant, headed the Department of Mathematics at New York University and was Director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences--which has subsequently renamed the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. His book Mathematical Physics is familiar to every physicist, and his book Differential and Integral Calculus is acknowledged to be one of the best presentations of the subject written in modern times. Herbert Robbins is New Jersey Professor of Mathematical Statistics at Rutgers University. Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, and author of Nature's Numbers and Does God Play Dice?. He also writes the "Mathematical Recreations" column in Scientific American.