Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4032807 in Books
• Published on: 1988
• Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews

The funny side of mathematics
The phrase "light, enjoyable reading in mathematics" is one that most would consider an oxymoron, but it does accurately describe Rose's book. At times humorous, other times profound, and all times interesting, this collection of jokes, limericks, and quotes manages to capture the difficulty, joy, and puzzlement of mathematics.
I'm sure all JRM readers have, at one time or another, thought "This paper does not need an abstract - it is abstract enough already." Concerning the distance between two points, even Mae West had something to say: "Curve - The loveliest way between two points." The great Bertrand Russell, too, must have brought himself down to earth on occasion: "At first it seems obvious, but the more you think about it the stranger the deductions from this axiom seem to become; in the end you cease to understand what is meant by it."
The reminder that even the great ones scratch(ed) their heads in bewilderment is a breath of fresh air and should serve as an encouragement to all those "suffering" through a mathematical encounter. With the only prerequisite a general knowledge of the field, it never fails to be understandable and belongs in the library of anyone with an esthetic enjoyment of mathematics.
My only criticisms are that the same quote appears on pages 36 and 43, and there is no blurb at the end announcing a sequel. But these, like the book, are light.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission