Is Mathematics Inevitable?
Underwood Dudley, Editor
160 pp., Hardbound, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-88385-566-9
Series: Spectrum
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Without question, the collection of entertaining mathematical stories in Is Mathematics Inevitable? is sure to have something for every fan of the subject. Each of these tales is just as fun and thought provoking as when they were originally published.
The selections include two opposing views on the purpose of mathematics, The Strong Law of Small Numbers, the treatment of calculus in the 1771 Encyclopaedia Britannica, several proofs that the number of legs on a horse is infinite, a deserved refutation of the ridiculous Euler-Diderot anecdote, the real story of Π and the Indiana Legislature, the reason why Theodorus stopped proving that square roots were irrational when he got to the square root of 17, an excerpt from Mathematics Made Difficult, and a glimpse into the mind of a calculating prodigy. These enjoyable tales will appeal to any lover of mathematics.
Underwood Dudley is the bestselling author of several MAA books, including Mathematical Cranks, Numerology (or What Pythagoras Wrought), and The Trisectors.
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