Customer Reviews

In Mathematical Circles: A Selection of Mathematical Stories and Anecdotes, Vols. 1-2 (2 Volume Set)

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The three hundred and sixty anecdotes collected here by Howard Eves deal primarily with mathematical trivia. Most of the tales are stories about individuals--what foolish claim did Alhazen make about the Nile? Did you know Thomas Carlyle had a mathematical background? Sometimes he adds a little research to a well-known story. For example, there is a famous tale about a meeting between Euler and Diderot at the Russian court. Eves includes De Morgan's early version of the story and compares it to his source, Thiebault, concluding that, sadly, the anecdote as it's usually told is mostly wishful thinking. There are also some notes on odds and ends--the origin of the word "sine" was new to me.

If you like popular mathematics books you'll have heard quite a few of these before, but many will still be new to you. My own favourites are the last few in the book, about Norbert Wiener, the famously absent-minded MIT professor. Here's one, to give you the flavour: one day Wiener was asked in class how to do a certain problem. "He thought for a moment, then wrote the answer on the blackboard. The class was nonplussed, and finally a bold spirit asked, 'But, Professor Wiener, is there any other way to do the problem?' The professor thought again for a moment, then brightened up and said, 'Why, yes, there *is* another way.' Then he wrote the same answer on the board."... However, it's a fine book, and if money is no object I can assure you you'll enjoy it.