Customer Reviews

Adventures in Group Theory: Rubik's Cube, Merlin's Machine, and Other Mathematical Toys

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I have never seen so many typos, omissions, and errors in a published book. Many of the examples are poorly introduced, theorems are mentioned that don't exist in the book, etc. Other than Rubik's cube, most of the other puzzles are presented in a completely incomprehensible manner. It's very annoying, in a book that's otherwise just what I want. It does give a good quick and dirty intro to the group theory needed, however.

I am old enough to remember the original appearance of the Rubik's cube puzzle. I examined it a few times while in a store, but never put any effort into it. Later, I looked at some of the literature that explained how "easy" it was to solve the puzzle. The solution involves the use of some advanced topics in group theory, so it is a puzzle with a mathematical twist. However, that is not the only application of group theory, there are many ways in which it can be used. Joyner shows us many of them, and provides the foundation before he tackles the problems.
This is an excellent book that can be used to either refresh your understanding of group theory or teach it to advanced undergraduates. The objects being manipulated are easy to understand, sometimes easy to build or acquire and the explanations are easy to follow. They are also different from those found in the standard group theory text. Puzzles are an area that fascinates many people, so it is often an advantage to present mathematical instruction in the form of a puzzle rather than in the standard sequence of background notation, theorem and then proof.
Finally, the author is to be commended for donating all of the profits from the book to the Earth Island Institute. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental projects throughout the world. Therefore, not only can a purchase of this book do your mathematical skills some good, it can also improve the quality of life for everyone on the planet.

Published in the recreational mathematics newsletter, reprinted with permission.

I was thinking of buying this book, but when I read that it is riddled with typos, I declined. Perhaps publishers will get the message that not doing proper editing results in lost sales.