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Béla Bollobás
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The Art of Mathematics: Coffee Time in Memphis Illustrated Edition

by Béla Bollobás (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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Can a Christian escape from a lion? How quickly can a rumor spread? Can you fool an airline into accepting oversize baggage? Recreational mathematics is full of frivolous questions where the mathematician's art can be brought to bear. But play often has a purpose. In mathematics, it can sharpen skills, provide amusement, or simply surprise, and books of problems have been the stock-in-trade of mathematicians for centuries. This collection is designed to be sipped from, rather than consumed in one sitting. The questions range in difficulty: the most challenging offer a glimpse of deep results that engage mathematicians today; even the easiest prompt readers to think about mathematics. All come with solutions, many with hints, and most with illustrations. Whether you are an expert, or a beginner or an amateur mathematician, this book will delight for a lifetime.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0521693950
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0521693950
  3. Edition
    Illustrated
  4. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  5. Publication date
    September 25, 2006
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.99 x 0.96 x 8.97 inches
  8. Print length
    359 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Author considers these problems to be the type that two mathematical friends would pose to each other and discuss over a cup of coffee in a lounge. I agree with that premise, they are not too hard and there is a proof that is relatively easy to discover and even easier to understand. These problems satisfy all of the requirements for a good problem..."
Journal of Recreational Mathematics

Book Description

A collection of mathematical problems chosen to illustrate the mathematician's art.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press; Illustrated edition (September 25, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 359 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521693950
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521693950
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.12 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.99 x 0.96 x 8.97 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

About the author

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Béla Bollobás

Béla Bollobás

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
We don’t use a simple average to calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star. Our system gives more weight to certain factors—including how recent the review is and if the reviewer bought it on Amazon. Learn more
16 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Saul
5.0 out of 5 stars Great problems.
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2017
Verified Purchase
Great problems, but a mixed bag. Some are classics. Some are so difficult that it will be a rare reader who can solve them. I've only solved a few so far, but I've enjoyed thinking about a lot of them
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YL
5.0 out of 5 stars interesting
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2009
Verified Purchase
many interesting problems... most of them are combinatorial and there are some analysis/topology as well. However, many topological problems can now be found in topological textbooks.
5 people found this helpful
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Beagle
5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgia trip for a lapsed mathematician
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2008
Back in the days when I was a mathematician I remember taking part in many coffee room discussions with problems similar to the ones found in this book. Sometimes problems like these arise from a detail of a concrete problem that a mathematician is working on, and other times the coffee room problem comes first and turns into something much bigger and deeper than it first appeared.

A good coffee room problem is one whose statement can be understood by all present (from the lowliest honours student upwards) so that everyone can take part in thinking about the solution without needing specialised knowledge. The problem should also be hard enough to keep everyone occupied for a while and should be more profound than it looks.

This book is a collection of such problems. The book is divided into three sections: problems, hints and solutions. Even if you can't solve a given problem, just the act of working on it for a few minutes, hours or days (depending on your stamina) before checking the answer still gives you a lot of insight into the problem and a great deal of enjoyment. The solutions often go deeper than just the original problem. For example, the first problem of the book about a lion chasing a christian in a circular arena turns out to be quite a famous problem that has been generalised to higher dimensions, different types of arenas and greater numbers of lions!

So you won't be forced to give up on all of them, some of the problems are much easier than others, but all will get you thinking. Although many are even accessible to the advanced high school student, a fair bit more sophistication is often required, particularly to fully appreciate the solutions. I believe Bollobas intended his primary audience to be the type of people you might meet at a university mathematics department coffee room, but it is also perfect for lapsed mathematicians like me who still remember enough mathematics to tackle this book. In this sense I found it a real nostalgia trip.
23 people found this helpful
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Mihai Prunescu
5.0 out of 5 stars Insights
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2008
The book contains surprinsingly deep insights in very short proofs. Recommanded to anyone loving mathematics.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Simon
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read - even for the non-mathematician
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
I bought this at the request of my 18y daughter after she read the free sample, who has just started her first year of a degree in Mathematics and Computer Sciences. She is going to use one of the ideas in the book for a uni project.
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Rapunzel
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
Great book (husband bought another for his father after enjoying it himself).
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