Customer Reviews

Mathematical Footprints: Discovering Mathematics Everywhere

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dear Amazon Staff.

A recent review for this book was obviously written by someone who is unfamiliar with geometry and trigonometry. The pythagorian theoren states that the relationship between the two sides and the hypotenuse of a right triangle is A^2 = B^2 + C^2 since sin and cosine are defined to be the two sides of a right triangle whose hypotenuse is 1, the theorem which you reviewer claims to be false is in fact true. It is always the case that 1 = sin^2 w + cos^2 w regardless of the value of w. I am writing to you because the majority of people rating your more recent customer review of this book are rating his review as being useful. This is really unfortunate.

I am considering using this book for a course. I will write a
review for it if we use it.

Barbara Nostrand, Ph.D. (Mathematics - Northeastern University)
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
SUNY College at Potsdam
Potsdam, New York 13676

What role has math played since prehistoric times? This considers math's many uses in medicine and art, its role in the development of computers and information systems, and its systematic importance to daily living. From the math involved in weather forecasting to math in art, this is packed with important details presented in a lively manner.

Theoni Pappas has enabled me to give a genuinely fun and interesting introduction to mathematics to my family and friends. I've enjoyed the writings of this talented author and mathemetician for 20 years. She gives mathematics a fun side! It's great to read her books, then for the rest of your life to see math in the real world, most everywhere you look. Theoni's writings and stories are a gift!

Thumbed through this book in the store... Loved the idea, and the selection of topics - architecture, natural phenomena, etc. - really wanted to buy it. Ran across some typos... some missing information... and ultimately just plain bogus "mathematics": sin^2 + cos^2 =1. Well, sin and cos of what? As written, it's nonsense... there's nonsense all around us too, but I wouldn't want to read a book about it. Wondered why the publisher did not employ an editor... put it back on the shelf.