The Magical Maze: Seeing the World Through Mathematical Eyes [Paperback]

Ian Stewart (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471350656 | ISBN-13: 978-0471350651 | Publication Date: 1998 | Edition: 1

Enter the magical maze of mathematics and explore the surprising passageways of a fantastical world where logic and imagination converge. For mathematics is a maze—a maze in your head—a maze of ideas, a maze of logic. And that maze in your mind is a powerful tool for understanding an even bigger maze—the one of cause and effect that we call "the universe." That is its special kind of magic. Real magic. Strange magic. Infinitely fascinating magic. Acclaimed author Ian Stewart leads you swiftly and humorously through the junctions, byways, and secret passages of the magical maze to reveal its beauty, surprise, and power. Along the way, he reveals the infinite possibilities that arise from what he calls "the two-way trade between the natural world and the human mind." If you’ve always loved mathematics, you will find endless delights in the twists and turns of The Magical Maze. If you’ve always hated mathematics, a trip through this marvelous book will do much to change your mind.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Math is fun? It is in Ian Stewart's romp through a labyrinth of possibilities and logic. Although some of the delightful puzzles, problems and teasers will give your brain a workout, you will be glad you followed the path to the end. Stewart uses the maze metaphor (the book has an "entrance," "passages," and an "exit" rather than an introduction, chapters, and an end) to illustrate the mental journeys we take when solving everything from bar tricks to problems of artificial intelligence. Difficult points are illustrated with an imaginary journey and lots of fun games. Real-life examples of mathematical "magic" abound, including the trails of slime-molds and the dimples in golf balls. Great walk through the jungle of probability. --Therese Littleton --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

Internationally acclaimed popular math and science author Ian Stewart has outdone himself with this infinitely entertaining romp through 4,000 years of mathematical monkey business. As with mathematics itself, fresh wonders await readers at every turn in this crazy quilt of fun games, mindboggling puzzles, fantastical parables, and fascinating yarns. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471350656
• ISBN-13: 978-0471350651
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,084,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful introduction to recreational mathematics!, November 29, 2005

By 

T. J. Ellis (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magical Maze: Seeing the World Through Mathematical Eyes (Paperback)

Other reviewers have criticized this book for its lack of detail and mathematical depth. Although that may be true for the experienced mathematician, this is an EXCELLENT introduction to the world of recreational mathematics. This book shows that math can be fun and useful and explains it in a way that anyone can understand. I often wondered, when I was younger, where logic tied in with math... I loved logic games and puzzles, things labeled as "math games" but I hated "math" -- arithmatic is totally lame. This book completely bridges the gap between logic games and mathematics and submerses the reader in a whole new, wonderful world. However, if you are already familiar with this world it may feel kind of like watching Seseme Street -- entertaining, but attempting to teach things you learned long ago. Either way it's an entertaining and educational (for the non-mathematician) romp in the frivolities of mathematics.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my view of math., October 3, 2011

By 

Ken - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magical Maze: Seeing the World Through Mathematical Eyes (Hardcover)

If you are already familiar with math, then this book won't be all that interesting to you. It doesn't go into too much depth about the mathematical principles behind the concepts it discusses, and it doesn't involve all that much actual math.

This book is really targetted towards people who never really saw math as anything other than another subject they hated in school, and it seeks to change their mind.

I was never that much of a "math person" before I read this book, and I just saw math as another subject in school, and I got average grades in math, and that was all it was to me.

This book taught me how to "think like a mathematician". I started to find myself actually liking math, and lo and behold, my grades even improved.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has an ill view of mathematics, and would like to improve their general experience with it.

You might even find that you actually like math once you start looking at it as something besides a bunch of useless numbers, or a difficult class to get past.

11 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars suitable for students in grade 10-12 BUT NOT FOR ME, January 5, 1999

By 

"altrau" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magical Maze: Seeing the World Through Mathematical Eyes (Hardcover)

The content in this book is suitable only for beginners. If u think that u are quite familiar with recreational mathematic, this book is quite tedious and have no new topic.