This dictionary of numbers, arranged in order of magnitude, exposes the fascinating facts about certain numbers and number sequences. The aim of the book is to entertain and enthral the reader, which it certainly does.
The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers
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About the Author
DAVID WELLS has written extensively on problems and popular mathematics, and many of his titles are available in Penguin. He is involved in education through writing and research, and lives in this country.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the foreword to G.H. Hardy's book A Mathematician's Apology, C.P. Snow tells an anecdote about Hardy and his collaborator Srinavasa Ramanujan. Hardy, perhaps the greatest number theorist of 20th century, took a taxi from London to the hospital at Putney where Ramanujan was dying of tuberculosis, Hardy noticed its number, 1729. Always inept about introducing a conversation, he entered the room where Ramanujan was lying in bed and, with scarcely a hello, blurted out his opinion about the taxi-cab number. It was, he declared, "rather a dull number," adding that he hoped that wasn't a bad omen. "No, Hardy! No, Hardy," said Ramanujan, "it is a very interesting number. It is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways."
Usually it takes a great deal of insight as well as considerable mathematical training to discover a yet unknown properties of some number. Only recognizing the beauty of a number pattern is much easier, though, especially with a friendly book like this one on hand. Wells, a long-time mathematics popularizer, has collected over 1000 numbers he considers interesting. Each of them is given a short explanation, often accompanied with a bibliographic reference. Celebrities among the numbers, like i, e or Pi, are given a more comprehensive treatment. Included are also several sequences, like Fibonacci's, Mersenne's, Fermat's, Carmichael's or Kaprekar's, each accompanied with its explanation. So are cyclic, amicable, untouchable or lucky numbers, and many more sequences you probably didn't know about.
While Wells' dictionary certainly gives the impression of a well-researched work, the list of numbers is by no means exhaustive. Anyone familiar with chaos theory will notice the absence of Feigenbaum constant; prime hunters would probably be interested in discussion on Woodall primes, Sophie-Germain primes, or Proth primes. But they are better off with Paulo Ribenboim's book on primes, anyway, while Wells' book, with its easily understandable explanations and accessible price is probably more suited for the "recreational mathematics" audience.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Itamar Ronen
Format:Paperback
Loaded with information, light-hearted and extremely well written! The book is so enjoyable that whenever you get near it you feel like grabbing it and find the vices and virtues of yet another number. And between one number and the next, one meets an entire gallery of mathematicians, mathematical terms, unsolved problems, great achievements and colossal mistakes... It's a jewel of a book - I strongly reccomend it.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A great supplemental tool for teachers! I had terrific fun with my 6th grade math students when reading them certain passages in this book. Many of the topics covered, such as factorials, hexidecimals, triangular numbers, pi, primes, etc. are not generally covered in the middle school very well or at all, and this book serves as a great launching tool for discussions that kids enjoy and think about long after class is over. Also, many topics go in depth and will challenge even the best high school math students and take them in many directions that traditional math education does not.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful book
For me, this is a dream book: I can read it on the bus to work (with the necessary ear-plugs inserted to filter out cellphone conversations) and marvel at the succinct, witty and... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Glenn Becker
5.0 out of 5 stars
a little outdated, but the only book of its kind
This book is fantastic. It delves very heavily into the history and character of mathematics and particularly mathematicians. Read more
Published on February 22, 2011 by The Laughing Man
5.0 out of 5 stars
Non-interesting Numbers
I like the part where he comes to 37 (I think) and say that 37 is the first non-interesting number, which in fact makes in interestind and simultaneously interesting and non... Read more
Published on December 5, 2010 by J. W. S. Andrews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a modern classic of recreational math
does anyone even imagine that this little charmer pretends to be more than the wee delight that it is, and has been for decades? Read more
Published on October 26, 2007 by David McCann
5.0 out of 5 stars
a really neat book
Everyone has that smart-alex relation who ruins Thanksgiving dinner by proving to every four year old in the room that they know more about math than they do. Read more
Published on November 27, 2002 by newton fisher
5.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting compendium for the beginning scholar.
The various and quicksilver aspects of mathmatics is really where the charm lies for the scholar,as numbers themselves are the critters with which all scientific worlds are... Read more
Published on July 11, 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful starting point to a lifetime of investigations
This book gives a summary of every interesting number known. A great way to find areas of maths to explore further and use as a stimulus to teaching. Read more
Published on June 6, 1998 by Lynne Kelly
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great characters, not much plot
This little book has been read and reread so many times by myself and my children that it is falling to bits. The trancendental numbers are full of intriguing wierdnesses. Read more
Published on April 19, 1997
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 33
books:
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45
books
cite this book:
See all 45 books citing this book
- Selected Topics in Number Theory by H. Gupta on page 99, page 104, and page 164
- Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (Problem Books in Mathematics / Unsolved Problems in Intuitive Mathematics) by Richard Guy in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- Mathematics and the Imagination by Edward Kasner on page 196, and page 202
- Solved and Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (CHEL/297) by Daniel Shanks on page 62, and page 89
- More Mathematical Byways (Recreations in Mathematics) by Hugh ApSimon on page 108, and page 119
See all 33 books this book cites
- Mathematical Knowledge for Primary Teachers by Jennifer Suggate on 4 pages
- The Loom Of God by Clifford A. Pickover in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R. Hofstadter on page 112, and Back Matter
- Lost Discoveries : The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--from the Babylonians to the Maya by Dick Teresi in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Math Chat Book (Spectrum) by Frank Morgan on page 56, and page 58
See all 45 books citing this book
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