Buy new:
$19.95
$4.42 delivery: Wednesday, Feb 21
Ships from: atomicdaisy
Sold by: atomicdaisy
List Price: $35.00 Details

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Save: $15.05 (43%)
$4.42 delivery Wednesday, February 21. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$19.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$19.95
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Wednesday, February 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, February 14. Order within 16 hrs 57 mins
Used: Acceptable | Details
Sold by -OnTimeBooks-
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comment: Shipped fast and reliably through the Amazon Prime program! Book may contain some writing, highlighting, and or cover damage.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Wonders of Numbers: Adventures in Math, Mind, and Meaning First Edition

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$19.95","priceAmount":19.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"UyKKW8b4PTfSTLQi0ROsm3wxrySI6jjb3NldZoBMdNKWdJwCcCEvijnSmxYOXAqV14Ekg3K11B8ahrifJURdiM39I2dSW4Hxvwzrw1lDBB3RQ8BBpE86g1keVEtJWCBlBmt6EsBXEf1MtlIfp3y9sbzdSwIXVZWIBcOwaSEHTdA%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.97","priceAmount":9.97,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"97","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"UyKKW8b4PTfSTLQi0ROsm3wxrySI6jjbPTM3WhssT2bMNaHJ2i8pktNmZO9hgB542T9i1TKDquKGK9%2B0QObOdSJcfPY6oWiGfAy0arHbe2nQMXVXey4jFm0Dx1ICHjwDkp8EaW%2BLlJVjSFd46DWvCD0snFreuIGFA8oIG33oJcH%2Bm%2BzYagD06stCYebMsCjc","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

If we actually received messages from the stars, what would we do with them? Who were the five strangest mathematicians in history? What are the ten most interesting numbers? Who is the Number King? Jam-packed with thought-provoking mathematical mysteries, puzzles, and games--as well as the answers to all of the above questions--Wonders of Numbers will enchant even the most left-brained of readers.
Hosted by the quirky Dr. Googol--who resides on an island in Sri Lanka and occasionally collaborates with Clifford Pickover--
Wonders of Numbers focuses on creativity and the delight of discovery. Here is a potpourri of common and unusual number theory problems of varying difficulty--each presented in brief chapters that convey to readers the essence of the problem rather than the extraneous, convoluted history of it. Want to know about undulating numbers? Turn to Chapter 53 and in just a few pages you'll have a quick challenge. Interested in Fibonacci numbers? Turn to Chapter 74 for the same. Peppered throughout with illustrations that clarify many of the problems, Wonders of Numbers also includes fascinating "math gossip." How would we use numbers to communicate with aliens? Check out Chapter 31. What are the five saddest mathematical scandals? You'll find them in Chapter 35. Did you know that there is a Numerical Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? There is, and it's in Chapter 46.
Indeed, each chapter in
Wonders of Numbers is a paradox and a mystery. From the beautiful formula of India's most famous mathematician to the Leviathan number so big it makes a trillion look small, Dr. Googol's witty, disarming, and straightforward approach to numbers will entice students, educators, and scientists alike to pick up a pencil and work a problem.

Book Description

A unique and lighthearted book filled with recreational math problems, mysteries, and fascinating facts

From the Author

Who are the eight most influential female mathematicians? Why aren't Roman numerals used anymore? Why was the first woman mathematician brutally murdered? What were the Unabomber's ten most mathematical technical papers?

Prepare yourself for a shattering odyssey as Wonders of Numbers unlocks the doors of your imagination. The thought-provoking mysteries, puzzles, and problems range from the most beautiful formula of Ramanujan (India's most famous mathematician) to the Leviathan number, a number so big that it makes a trillion pale in comparison. The mysterious puzzles and games should cause even the most left-brained readers to fall in love with numbers. The quirky and exclusive surveys on mathematicians' lives, scandals, and passions will entertain people at all levels of mathematical sophistication.

Grab a pencil. Relax. Then take off on a mind-boggling journey to the ultimate frontier of math, mind, and meaning, as Dr. Clifford Pickover and legendary, eccentric mathematician Dr. Francis Googol explore some of the oddest and quirkiest highways and byways of the numerically obsessed. With numerous illustrations and appendices pointing to computer explorations, this is an original, fun-filled, and thoroughly unique introduction to numbers and their role in creativity, computers, games, practical research, and absurd adventures that teeter on the edge of logic and insanity.

From the Inside Flap

"The prolific Clifford Pickover has written another marvelous book. Through conversations between whimsical Dr. Googol and his pupil Monica, you can test your wits on an incredible variety of unusual mathematical puzzles and games. Along the way there are fascinating historical facts and math gossip to enjoy. You can't help absorbing a great deal of important math as you pick your way through Pickover's delightful pick of fresh, little-known gems of recreational mathematics."
-- Martin Gardner

"Pickover dazzles us once more with his book Wonders of Numbers. This big book of mathematical ideas provides hours, days, months if not years of entertaining numbers, puzzles, problems and novelties to explore. The book runs the gamut with such things as X-File numbers, Mozart numbers, Katydid sequences, and on and on. There's something for everyone's interest."


-- Theoni Pappas, author of The Joy of Mathematics

About the Author

Clifford A. Pickover is Research Staff Member at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. An associate editor of several journals, prolific inventor, and puzzle columnist for magazines such as Discover, Pickover is the author of many best-selling books on popular science topics. He lives in Yorktown Heights, New York.

Limited-Time Offer
3 Months FREE of Audible Premium Plus. Get this deal

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0195133420
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; First Edition (December 15, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780195133424
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195133424
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

Important information

To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

From my publisher:

Clifford A. Pickover received his Ph.D. from Yale University and is the author of over 30 books on such topics as computers and creativity, art, mathematics, black holes, religion, human behavior and intelligence, time travel, alien life, and science fiction.

Pickover is a prolific inventor with dozens of patents, is the associate editor for several journals, the author of colorful puzzle calendars, and puzzle contributor to magazines geared to children and adults.

WIRED magazine writes, "Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." According to The Los Angeles Times, "Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he stretches the limits of computers, art and thought."

The Christian Science Monitor writes, "Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas." Pickover's computer graphics have been featured on the cover of many popular magazines and on TV shows.

His web site, Pickover.Com, has received millions of visits. His Blog RealityCarnival.Com is one of his most popular sites.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2001
13 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2001
13 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2002
3 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2001
19 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2000
5 people found this helpful
Report

Top reviews from other countries

Derek Fisher
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2013