Overview

Requiring no more than high-school-level math competency, this playful excursion through the nuances of math will give you a better grasp of this fundamental, all-important science. Veteran math educators demonstrate how some """"magnificent mistakes"""" had profound consequences for our understanding of mathematics' key concepts. In the nineteenth century, English mathematician William Shanks spent fifteen years calculating the value of pi, setting a record for the number of decimal places. Later, his calculation was reproduced using large wooden numerals to decorate the cupola of a hall in the Palais de la Decouverte in Paris. However, in 1946, with the aid of a mechanical desk calculator that ran for seventy hours, it was discovered that there was a mistake in the 528th decimal place. Today, supercomputers have determined the value of pi to trillions of decimal places. This is just one of the amusing and intriguing stories about mistakes in mathematics in this layperson's guide to mathematical principles. In another example, the authors show that when we """"prove"""" that every triangle is isosceles, we are violating a concept not even known to Euclid-that of """"betweenness."""" And if

Full Product Details

9781616147471

Table of Contents

Reviews

People who like math, as well as those who struggled with it for years, will be captivated by this book. The authors ask readers to follow them into mathematical areas such as the number pi, the Pythagorean theorem, or other concepts and look for 'magnificent mistakes, ' and they show most interestingly that 'even using correct procedures can sometimes lead to absurd--but enlightening--results.' It's a brilliant and entertaining technique for understanding math and the development of theorems. Following [Posamentier and Lehmann's] popular books on the Fibonacci numbers and pi, this is another fascinating and enjoyable read. <br>--Dr. Gerhard Ackermann, professor and retired president, Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin <br><br> A fascinating journey through the history of mathematics, highlighting the great thinkers of all time, from Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Archimedes, through the inventors of calculus, Newton and Leibniz. The authors identify the mistakes of these and other notable mathematicians, and, in a gentle and lighthearted way, lead the reader through an easy-to-follow explanation of the error and the appropriate correction. This book is both informative and entertaining and should make every mathematician, both novice and professional, feel secure with the knowledge that their errors put them in the company of the greatest mathematicians of all time.... A treasure for educators, mathematicians, and those with an interest in mathematics and its history. <br> --Daniel Jaye, chief academic officer and director of Academic Affairs, Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County

"""""[F]or me it is the mathematical gaffes the rest of us are more likely to fall for that make Posamentier and Lehmann's book interesting. My favourites are the proofs that involve dividing by zero, leading to results such as 1=2."" -New Scientist ""This volume could be useful to a teacher of mathematics as a source of examples that can hammer home important concepts.""-Library Journal ""Don't be scared off by the 'mathiness'... Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics is an intriguing read. I'll bet that even old hands at mathematics will find something new here... a great opportunity as the school year begins, giving us a chance once again to 'go figure!'"" -Astro Guyz""A fairly quick and entertaining read for typical math buffs... I think this somewhat unique approach makes the volume a worthwhile, entertaining addition to one's math bookshelf, and it may be particularly useful to secondary school teachers, providing a lot of grist for instructive, thoughtful examples in the classroom.""-MathTango ""Advanced math skills are not required to enjoy untangling errors that illustrate concepts in arithmetic, algebra, and more."" -Science News"

[F]or me it is the mathematical gaffes the rest of us are more likely to fall for that make Posamentier and Lehmann's book interesting. My favourites are the proofs that involve dividing by zero, leading to results such as 1=2. -New Scientist This volume could be useful to a teacher of mathematics as a source of examples that can hammer home important concepts. -Library Journal Don't be scared off by the 'mathiness'... Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics is an intriguing read. I'll bet that even old hands at mathematics will find something new here... a great opportunity as the school year begins, giving us a chance once again to 'go figure!' -Astro Guyz A fairly quick and entertaining read for typical math buffs... I think this somewhat unique approach makes the volume a worthwhile, entertaining addition to one's math bookshelf, and it may be particularly useful to secondary school teachers, providing a lot of grist for instructive, thoughtful examples in the classroom. -MathTango Advanced math skills are not required to enjoy untangling errors that illustrate concepts in arithmetic, algebra, and more. -Science News

People who like math, as well as those who struggled with it for years, will be captivated by this book. The authors ask readers to follow them into mathematical areas such as the number pi, the Pythagorean theorem, or other concepts and look for 'magnificent mistakes, ' and they show most interestingly that 'even using correct procedures can sometimes lead to absurd--but enlightening--results.' It's a brilliant and entertaining technique for understanding math and the development of theorems. Following [Posamentier and Lehmann's] popular books on the Fibonacci numbers and pi, this is another fascinating and enjoyable read. --Dr. Gerhard Ackermann, professor and retired president, Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin A fascinating journey through the history of mathematics, highlighting the great thinkers of all time, from Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Archimedes, through the inventors of calculus, Newton and Leibniz. The authors identify the mistakes of these and other notable mathematicians, and, in a gentle and lighthearted way, lead the reader through an easy-to-follow explanation of the error and the appropriate correction. This book is both informative and entertaining and should make every mathematician, both novice and professional, feel secure with the knowledge that their errors put them in the company of the greatest mathematicians of all time.... A treasure for educators, mathematicians, and those with an interest in mathematics and its history. --Daniel Jaye, chief academic officer and director of Academic Affairs, Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County

Author Information

Alfred S. Posamentier is dean of the School of Education and professor of mathematics education at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Previously, he had the same positions at the City College of the City University of New York for forty years. He has published over fifty-five books in the area of mathematics and mathematics education, including The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers (with Ingmar Lehmann). b>Ingmar Lehmann is retired from the mathematics faculty at Humboldt University in Berlin. For many years he led the Berlin Mathematics Student Society for gifted secondary-school students, with which he is still closely engaged today. He is the coauthor with Alfred S. Posamentier of The Secrets of Triangles, The Glorious Golden Ratio, and three other books.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available