Playing with Infinity: Mathematical Explorations and Excursions [Paperback]

Rozsa Peter (Author), Z. P. Dienes (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2010

Popular account ranges from counting to mathematical logic and covers the many mathematical concepts that relate to infinity: graphic representation of functions; pairings and other combinations; prime numbers; logarithms and circular functions; formulas, analytical geometry; infinite lines, complex numbers, expansion in the power series; metamathematics; more. 216 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (August 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486232654
• ISBN-13: 978-0486232652
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun intro to Infinity math for older kids and others, November 12, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Phoenix, AZ (from Australia)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playing with Infinity: Mathematical Explorations and Excursions (Paperback)

Infinity is fun. But most people have never been exposed to the fascinating theory of infinities. This book provides an extremely well presented introduction to the concepts of infinities. The presentation is at times a little forced, however overall it is clearly and simply written, and the basic analyses of enumeration by pairing of elements is explained in a simple and easily understandable manner. The elementary concepts of infinites are not difficult to grasp, and should and can be understood by anyone with an interest in mathematics. This book provides an easy to understand introduction to these concepts. I especially recommend it for parents wanting to study/learn math with their kids in middle and high school. It covers material that will not be covered at school, but is fun and not overly difficult to grasp, and will surely help both the parent and child.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good general account on infinity.., July 9, 2001

By 

Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Playing with Infinity: Mathematical Explorations and Excursions (Paperback)

This book will give you a good general introduction to the concept of infinity. I found the presentation informal and quite easy to follow. Since the book was first written in 1943 and revised in 1960 there are some units that are not used anymore. For example, the coinage of pounds, shillings, and pence is dead. Things like a chapter on "The Charts Get Smoothed Out", may seem round about but still interesting. My favorite chapter is "Mathematics Is One". The derivation of "visual forms" in functions is excellent.

Have pen and paper handy because to really enjoy the book I found myself doing some of the "the reader can solve for himself..." stuff. Another point is that you can more or less read the chapters independently and in no particular order and still reap huge benefits from the material.

Thank God for Dover which still publishes this book. My copy is a 1976 edition. If you are interested in getting back in touch with things you may have long forgotten get this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explanation of math from the very beginning, November 14, 2000

By 

tkr5 (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playing with Infinity: Mathematical Explorations and Excursions (Paperback)

This book explains the why's behind math from principles as basic as counting to as complicated as series, geometry, and even some calculus principles. It is written in a conversational tone with lots of pictures (yes, and numbers). Each chapter builds upon the last, and it is easy to follow (though sometimes dense). It was my first "fun" math book and is still by far my favorite. There are other math books that take real situations and relate them to math, but this starts with math and sticks with it. Thus, not for the mathphobe, but great if you want to understand math from the ground up.