The Mathematics Calendar 2005: The Landscape and Random Numbers Plus Eleven More Topics [Calendar]

Theoni Pappas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

Featuring games, stories, brainteasers, and fascinating graphics, this popular calendar stimulates curiosity, opens up the imagination, and provides entertainment for every day of the year. The box for each date contains a problem whose solution is the date itself - the challenge lies in figuring out how to arrive there, and possibly discovering more than one method. In addition, every month offers a treasure trove of information: how random numbers shape the landscape, Zeno's zany paradoxes, the Möbius strip, prime twins, mathematical connections between codes, new technologies, the workings of lighthouses, and much more.

Product Details

• Calendar: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tetra Press (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884550312
• ISBN-13: 978-1884550317
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,602,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A great idea, poorly executed, January 16, 2006

By 

Ironblayde (Omaha, Nebraska, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mathematics Calendar 2006 (Calendar)

If you're like me and think that mathematics is great fun, then the idea of having a calendar with a new problem for each day probably sounds pretty intriguing. Indeed, this could be a great product if done well. But the calendar has several shortcomings.

For one, many (most?) of the problems test knowledge rather than intelligence. For example, one problem shows a subtraction problem with one number written in Mayan numerals and the other written in Chinese. Now, if you recognize Mayan and Chinese numbers, this problem requires no thought whatsoever. If you don't, no amount of puzzling will avail you. Another asks, "If 100 quadrillion is written in scientific notation, you get 10^?" This is the same sort of thing. Mathematics should be about reasoning, not trivia. Particularly when each problem has the date as its solution, meaning that questions like the last are more statements of fact than questions.

My other problem with it is that it isn't presented very well. There's a lack of consistency in its formatting that suggests that it was thrown together somewhat haphazardly, and it's littered with typographical and mathematical errors. The question for January 19, for example, asks the reader to translate the hexadecimal number F4 into decimal. Aside from fitting my earlier complaint about this being a mere trivia question, anyone who knows hex will tell you that the answer is 244, not 19. The calendar has a page of errata buried on the publisher's atrociously bad website, but really, this is the sort of thing that should have been spotted instantly -- BEFORE the product went into circulation.

Looking around Amazon at some of Pappas' other products, many reviews seem to complain that they reflect a very low editorial standard, and I think this is the case with the 2006 Mathematics Calendar too. It's a great idea and does have a few interesting problems in it, but for the most part it's a disappointment. Stay away from this one.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this calendar!, February 2, 2011

By 

Mark B. (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mathematics Calendar 2011 (Calendar)

I'm on my second year, and I got the one for kids as well. These calendars are great for keeping your math skills up. For each day of the year, you are presented with a problem -- and the answer to that problem is the day of the month! Very diverse problem types, some tricky, some straightforward. Coverage of algebra, geometry, some trigonometry, number/set theory, the occasional calculus problem, and famous formulas (e.g., one problem from January 2011 required knowledge of Euler's identity: e^(i*pi)= -1). Basically what you would expect in an advanced high school setting. Also, the top half covers a mathematical topic of interest, with extensive references to web sites and printed works. If you want to boost your nerd cred, then nothing beats hanging this in your cube space and showing your work for each and every day of the month, preferably in near-illegible pencil scrawl.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy math all year!, October 20, 2010

By 

Scott Randal - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mathematics Calendar 2011 (Calendar)

Good value for the price; 365 creative math problems from arithmetic, algebra 1 and 2, geometry, trig., and precalculus. Plus some brainbuster problems and a crossword puzzle. Each month has a write-up on some topic such as "the parabola's staying power." Attractive graphics throughout. I enjoyed solving several of the problems last night.