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With this fascinating volume, Keith Devlin proves that the guiding principles of some of the most mysterious mathematical topics can be made comprehensible. Writing with an elegant lucidity, Devlin shows just why the definition of mathematics as "working with numbers" has been out of date for nearly 2,500 years. And he demonstrates that far from being too abstract to matter, mathematics is instead an essential and uniquely human endeavor, one that helps us understand the universe and ourselves.
In this century alone, there has been a veritable explosion of mathematical activity. A body of knowledge that in 1900 might have filled 80 volumes now would require nearly 100,000. Fields such as algebra and topology have grown tremendously, while complexity theory, dynamical systems theory, and other new areas have developed.
And in the last two decades, a common thread running through the many facets of mathematics has been recognized: mathematicians of all kinds now see their work as the study of patterns - real or imagined, visual or mental, arising from the natural world or from within the human mind.
Devlin uses this basic definition as his central theme, revealing the search for patterns that drives the mathematics of counting (natural numbers), reasoning (language and logic), motion (calculus), shape (geometry, tilings), and position (topology, knots, symmetry). Interweaving historical highlights and current developments, and using a minimum of formulas, he lets readers see into the kind of reasoning that allows mathematicians to create and explore arcane subjects.
And he makes clear the many ways mathematics informs our perceptions of reality - both the physical, biological, and social worlds without, and the realm of ideas and thoughts within.
"Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty," the noted philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell once wrote. In Mathematics: The Science of Patterns, Keith Devlin makes such a vision accessible, entertaining, and meaningful. It is an insightful, richly illustrated celebration of the simplicity, the precision, the purity, and the elegance of mathematics.
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Previews available in: English
Showing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
Edition | Availability |
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1
Mathematics: The Science of Patterns
December 15, 1996, Owl Books
Paperback
in English
0805073442 9780805073447
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2
Mathematics: The Science of Patterns: The Search for Order in Life, Mind and the Universe
December 15, 1996, W. H. Freeman
Paperback
in English
0716760223 9780716760221
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3
Mathematics: The Science of Patterns
1994, Scientific American Library
in English
0716750473 9780716750475
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Book Details
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-211) and index.
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Work Description
To most people, mathematics means working with numbers. But as Keith Devlin shows in Mathematics: The Science of Patterns, this definition has been out of date for nearly 2,500 years. Mathematicians now see their work as the study of patterns: real or imagined, visual or mental, arising from the natural world or from within the human mind.
Using this basic definition as his central theme, Devlin explores the patterns of counting, measuring, reasoning, motion, shape, position, and prediction, revealing the powerful influence mathematics has over our perception of reality. Interweaving historical highlights and current developments, and using a minimum of formulas, Devlin celebrates the precision, purity, and elegance of mathematics.
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July 18, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
March 8, 2023 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
November 27, 2022 | Edited by OnFrATa | Merge works (MRID: 29577) |
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