Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, & Other Mathematical Explorations [Hardcover]

Keith Ball (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2003

How does mathematics enable us to send pictures from space back to Earth? Where does the bell-shaped curve come from? Why do you need only 23 people in a room for a 50/50 chance of two of them sharing the same birthday? In Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, and Other Mathematical Explorations, Keith Ball highlights how ideas, mostly from pure math, can answer these questions and many more. Drawing on areas of mathematics from probability theory, number theory, and geometry, he explores a wide range of concepts, some more light-hearted, others central to the development of the field and used daily by mathematicians, physicists, and engineers.

Each of the book's ten chapters begins by outlining key concepts and goes on to discuss, with the minimum of technical detail, the principles that underlie them. Each includes puzzles and problems of varying difficulty. While the chapters are self-contained, they also reveal the links between seemingly unrelated topics. For example, the problem of how to design codes for satellite communication gives rise to the same idea of uncertainty as the problem of screening blood samples for disease.

Accessible to anyone familiar with basic calculus, this book is a treasure trove of ideas that will entertain, amuse, and bemuse students, teachers, and math lovers of all ages.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Keith Ball demonstrated that though math may not be laugh-out-loud hilarious, it is deeply and gloriously satisfying. . . . Ball's style is pacy and informal, and he does far more than just show off polished results. This is math with the hood up and the engine running.
(Ben Longstaff New Scientist )

A recreational math book with enough heft to give its intended audience a series of mental workouts, ranging from the rough equivalent of a stroll to the corner mailbox to a hard mile run. The writing style is open and engaging.
(Choice )

A gem. . . . Each topic is taken up in a setting that immediately generates interest . . . Ball's achievement is to have come up with a selection of topics which are fresh and unusual. . . . It is a pleasure to report that the book is written in limpid, graceful, elegant English prose--nowadays a nearly vanished species.
(Stacy G. Langton MAA Online )

The author's writing style is informal, inviting, and clear. . . . This book gives a lively and carefully written treatment of a number of interesting topics. . . . The range of topics is wide, so even the experienced mathematician may learn something new.
(Harold R. Parks Notices of the American Mathematical Society )

Review

This book belongs on the shelf next to the classic What is Mathematics? as a resource for students who seek a broader view of mathematics and for teachers and professors who want to enrich their classes. A great addition to the books that spread the beauty and substance of mathematics to a wide audience.
(Sherman Stein, author of "How the Other Half Thinks" )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691113211
• ISBN-13: 978-0691113210
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,829,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting for autodidacts interested in math, December 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, & Other Mathematical Explorations (Hardcover)

I would agree with the back cover advanced praise for this book. I wanted to make a special note for people who consider themselves to be self-starters in terms of their interest in math: This book has problems throughout the book with SOLUTIONS. The best way to learn math is to do it. While I enjoy a lot of 'pop math' books out there, I am disappointed that there hasn't been an attempt to include a few illustrative problems with solutions (books without solutions aren't going to be useful to autodidacts or even more serious students of the subject). Well, finally this book offers what many of us have been looking for.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just about as good as it gets, September 29, 2006

By 

Martin P. Cohen "Seeker" (Langhorne, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, & Other Mathematical Explorations (Hardcover)

It should be easy for a mathematician to write a book on recreational mathematics, right? Ha! You can look through my reviews for some godawful examples of this genre.

It is not enough to know mathematics. The writer has to write well and to have an understanding of the mindset of those of us who are strictly amateurs. The material has to have intrinsic interest and the explanations have to be clear and well motivated but not condescending. The problems should be challenging but not impossible and they should serve to gain insight into the material. And they should come with answers!

All of this Ball accomplishes. The quality of the writing reminds me of Martin Gardner. There is one thing that I need to emphasize. This book contains proofs, because proofs are the heart and soul of mathematics. The proofs are exceptionally clear, but if mathematical proofs are not your thing then go elsewhere. If you are not intimidated by proofs and have a knowledge of high school matematics up through calculus then you are in for a real treat.

I particularly liked the chapter on continued fractions. This is the first time that I have seen a treatment of the matrix approach. I do have one very small quibble. The matrix approach allows for a very simple derivation of the formula for convergents, which I was able to discover for myself but which is not presented in the book. All of the other proofs I have seen for the formula do not provide a derivation, but instead do a proof by induction. I hope that future editions of the book include the derivation of the convegents formula.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great - well written and entertaining, December 29, 2003

By 

Sally MacLennan (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, & Other Mathematical Explorations (Hardcover)

On opening this Christmas present I inwardly groaned - didn't like the title and the subjects seemed to be ones that had been covered many times elsewhere. BUT...I was so wrong! The writing is clear and entertaining, and the subjects are covered in new and interesting ways. If you like 'popular maths' books then you'll find Ball to be a great new author to keep an eye on. If you are a math teacher or instructor you'll find lots of material here that can only enliven your lessons. One of the best popular maths books for a long time.