Product Description

Here the author of How to Solve It explains how to become a "good guesser." Marked by G. Polya's simple, energetic prose and use of clever examples from a wide range of human activities, this two-volume work explores techniques of guessing, inductive reasoning, and reasoning by analogy, and the role they play in the most rigorous of deductive disciplines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #607340 in Books
• Published on: 1990-08-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Review
Polya . . . does a masterful job of showing just how plausible reasoning is used in mathematics. . . . The material in both volumes is fresh and highly original; the presentation is stimulating, informal, and occasionally humorous; examples from science, legal reasoning, and daily life make the arguments clear even to a nonspecialist. Polya's book is a rare event. . . .
(Morris Kline Scientific American )

Professor Polya's beautifully written hook has become a classic. . . .
(-A. 0. L. Atkin The Mathematical Gazette )

Professor Polya . . . is interested in problem solving and the psychological aspects of mathematical discovery. . . . [These books] should provide many entertaining hours for anyone who cares to pick up the challenge.
(Carl Hammer Journal of the Franklin Institute )

Professor Polya presents a forceful argument for the teaching of intelligent guessing as well as proving. . . . There are also very readable and enjoyable discussions of such concepts as the isoperimetric problem and 'chance, the ever-present rival of conjecture.'
(Bruce E. Meserve The Mathematics Teacher )

About the Author
G. Polya (1887-1985) was Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University.