Product Description

Customer Reviews (10)

agonizing to use as a reference
The back cover blurb describes this book as "among the best available reference introductions to general topology." Notice that word "reference." I find using this book as a reference to be incredibly painful. The problem is simply that it was written in 1970, when word processors didn't exist. Therefore whenever I look up anything in the index, I get something like "uniformity of compact convergence, 43.5, 43.6, 43.11, 43C." That is, there are no page numbers. 43.5 is a definition of the term. 43.6 is a theorem. 43.11 is another theorem. 43C is an exercise. To find any of these, I have to laboriously flip back and forth, searching for the desired decimal-numbered definition or theorem, or numbered and lettered exercise. Starting ca. 1985, there was no longer any excuse for producing a book without a proper index referring to page numbers; the word-processor would do it for you. Since ca. 2005, it's hard to see the utility of a book like this as a "reference" at all, because I can find a better treatment of any given topic on Wikipedia.

Absolutely amazing!
This is certainly one of the best books on general topology available. It requires more maturity from the reader than the usual Munkres/Armstrong standard, but IMHO it is perfectly adequate for a first contact with the subject. It is a dense book, and it does not talk much like other books, but the exposition is so clear that this is actually a quality. Being succint, it manages to cover a lot more ground than the standard references; there is much more here than a one-semester course can cover. The exercises are usually difficult; some of them are real challenges (e.g. can you find an order in which the real numbers are well-ordered? This question pops out in the first set of exercises). The exercises are actually the purpose why this book leaves its rivals far behind. They provide the reader with a deep topological way of thinking in many ways: by forcing the reader to construct counterexamples himself (an essential skill for a topologist) and generalizing the theorems presented in the text, often to explore a new technique or construction. Sometimes this may provide the reader with multiple ways to look at a particular problem, which is certainly an useful skill (not to say inspiring!). A good example is the way the author explores the interconnection between nets and filters, which provide two different frameworks for describing topologies by means of convergence. Most other books describe just one approach or the other, and even when they do both they seldom explicit how they are related. A careful reader who works throughout the whole text, or at least through most of it, will have a better understanding of topology than the reader of the more usual texts. For the sake of comparison, I should say I found the discussion here about quotient spaces far clearer than Munkres's. Willard makes clear from the beggining the distinction between the "quotient approach" and the more intuitive "identification approach", which is the formalization of the intuitive grasp of cutting and pasting spaces. The author carefully develops both points of view, to show in the end they are really the same (in the sense of an universal property - i.e., up to homeomorphism). It becomes absolutely clear then that the first, more abstract approach, gives an effective way for manipulating mathematically problems arising in the second, hence its not-so-obvious-at-a-first-glance importance.

Readers who are already familiar with the methods and results of general topology and basic algebraic topology will also benefit from this book, specially from the exercises. This, together with "Counterexamples in Topology", by Steen and Seebach, form the best duo for studying general topology for real; this is the best option available for the ambitious student and the aspiring topologist. Also, as they are both Dover, the prices are ridiculously low. For a couple of bucks you may have access to some of the most beautiful treasures of mathematics.

A Great Beginning Text
Willard's text is a great introduction to the subject, suitable for use in a graduate course. I am personally not training to be a topologist but I must say that I enjoyed this book thoroughly and walked away with a firmer appreciation of the subject than I had previously had.

There is quite a bit of content ranging from subject matter and an extensive bibliography to a collection of historical notes. The exercises are suitable and doable; I have personally found that most of them range from being easy to moderately challenging but there are plenty of difficult problems as well.

It is important to note, however, that this text is primarily focused on point-set topology. There is a brief exposition of homotopy theory and the fundamental group but nothing compared to, say Munkres. But this is by no means a drawback. Willard thoroughly examines many topics that Munkres sometimes allocates to the exercises.A good example of this is net convergence, a topic that in my opinion, ought to be treated in any introductory topology course. In fact, Willard's development of nets makes for a nice, quick proof of theTychonoff Theorem while Munkres's approach necessitates the development of a few technical lemmas.

Overall, this book is quite pleasant to read. It is also quite pleasant to purchase compared to several other introductory texts that run anywhere from 50.00-100.00. There are many nontrivial aspects to topology and this book has a way of gently nudging the reader into some of the more technical and delicate aspects of the theory. But as I mentioned before, while this book is a great introduction to point-set topology, this is not the text to read if one is searching for an introduction to algebraic or differential topology. In the latter case, Munkres or Fulton would be a good bet.

A masterpiece
First a caveate: This book may not be the most suitable for everyone that takes a FIRST course on General Topology unless he or she is prepared to put in quite a lot of work. This is because the book contains so much information in relatively few pages that the material is necessarily quite dense. Even so the book is a good purchase because it's cheap and will serve everyone good later as a reference.

The organization of the book: Everything is presented in a perfectly logical order, beginning with a summary of Set Theory and ending with topologies on Function Spaces. During the course the reader is invited to make excursions to other areas of mathematics from a topological point of view and perhaps gain insights into those fields that even specialists don't have. This is mostly done through problems for the reader to solve.

Definitions and Theorems: The definitions are always the most general possible, often presented as a set of axioms that the defined quantity has to fulfill. The theorems are almost always presented in their most general form.

The Proofs: The proofs are generally on either the shortest and most elegant form possible, or taken from the original publications. This is for the benefit of the reader even though it might appear to some readers as "terse" proofs because this kind of proofs is the one that gains the reader the most insight once they are understood. "Short and elegant" does NOT mean that the author leaves out details (unless they are explicitely assigned as problems).

Explanations and Motivations: The text is short and to the point. This again does not mean that the author leaves out anything relevant or that he does not warn for possible pitfalls.

Examples of introduced concepts and definitions: There are numerous well chosen examples, often nontrivial, to illustrate the meaning of introduced concepts.

The problem set: The set of problems is just fantastic. The problems are numerous, diverse, illustrative, and again, sometimes HIGHLY nontrivial. Don't be too scared though, because the author provides very accurate hints of how to approach the more difficult ones.

Bibliography, Historical Remarks and Index: One just has to admire the amount of work the author has put into this.

Miscellaneous: As mentioned, the material is (necessarily) condensed, but the text is never "dry" or boring. There is an undertone of humour in quite a few places. For instance, when the author mentions that not every regular space is completely regular, because there exists a formidable example that shows this fact, he relegates that example to problem 18G "where most people won't be bothered with it". This practically guarantees that most people WILL be bothered by it by looking up 18.G. There, in 18G, he provides som many hints that it is actually doable for most people to reconstruct this formidable (i.e. difficult) example.

On the Downside: There are no solved problems, and the author does not teach the reader on HOW to solve problems. This is however compensated for by the numerous hints in the problem set and through the methods of thaught one learns from reading and understanding the proofs. Also, in topology, one basically has to invent ones own mothod to solve an unsolved problem. There is no canonical way of doing things!

Excellent
this is an amazing book. very wisely constructed with a lot of real content.
if i may ask for something more i would ask for an updated version, and solutions for problems. ... Read more

Product Description
This manual contains completely worked-out solutions for all the odd-numbered exercises in the text, as well as completely worked-out solutions to all the exercises in the Review Exercises and Assessment Tests. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great book
I'm a 23 year old student that is going back to school.This book is great - it helped me understand debt and the value of long-term saving.It is the one book that I did not sell at the end of the semester, since I will continue to use it in the future.It was easy to read but the material took some work...

good purchase
I needed this book for an online course. It is a good book and easy to follow.

College Book
This book was exactly what I was looking for for my online class.Shipped on time and in great shape.

Essential Math Knowledge
The content in this textbook is what we should have been taught in High School instead of Trigonometry and Pythagoras Theorem. Very practical and relevant. Essential knowledge for everyone!!

Business Mathmatics Textbook
The book goes over the information quite thoroughly.However, there are a few things that can be improved upon.The book only mentions one method of doing things while there are actually several that make more sense.
The answers in the back of the book help you check your work, but it does end up being a crutch that you lean on (once you figure out there are answers there).
A lot of good information, even if it is a high-school level book used in colleges. ... Read more

Product Description
Finite Mathematics is designed for the one-term course in finite math taken primarily by students majoring in business, economics, life sciences, and the social sciences. The mathematical integrity of the previous edition has been maintained in the new edition. The core topics and their applications are presented in Parts One and Two of this text, and additional applications are developed in Part Three. Parts One and Two are independent of one another, thus either probability or linear mathematics may be studied first. The authors' emphasis is on developing and testing the student's problem-solving ability. They use discussions and examples to illustrate ideas and techniques to aid the student in acquiring these skills. Some examples and exercises are straightforward computation, while others require that the problem be solved by combining several techniques. Since it is impossible to provide examples of every type of problem the student will encounter in the text, the authors have identified and treated the fundamental principles that should be used in unfamiliar situations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

horrible
I am a college student, and I ordered this book almost a month before classes started and just now received it, 2 weeks late.I had to buy the book on campus which cost me an extra $80 because this product was not shipped in the timeframe it should have been.If you use this seller make sure you set a specific date for shipping. i dont understand why it would take 30 days for a book to be shipped not even 2 states over.

Good For College/Univ Student
Finite math is use as a teaching material in my applied math class. ifound it easy to understand and the examples guide you to a thoroughunderstanding. It is a steping stone before you go futher to other maths. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (32)

Human treasure
Seldom one could identify this kind of object in human history. This book is treasure of human beings. It collects first-rate insights from first-rate mathematicians of human world, in the way of first-rate (I would say the editor has devised such a wonderful 'function' to transform the input to such output).

Anyone seriously interested in mathematics and any college student shall own this book. It is the best introduction to mathematics than any other book because it contains many lens rather than one. One could be exposed to different perspectives in the book, rather than an algebraist's, geometer's, analyst's, or a number theorist's view. T. Apostol's Calculus is great. But it's not the best math introduction because it's through a great analysis teacher's len and it purely focuses on rigorous analysis way of seeing and doing math. So for others, you need this book.

And this book is better than encyclopedia because it expresses the authors' personal insights, which are all first-rate. We love insights/wisdom more than cold facts. Facts of mathematical objects could be found anywhere. But how do some first-class mathematicians "see" such objects? How do they explain the object? This may be the gem they learned/reflected during their past years (and successful ones). Now some of the gem is here in the book.

An apprentice needs a general master for guidance on the overall picture of each specific field that the apprentice could further study from masters of each specialty. This book is the general master to math beginners. It opens a door to the math world. What a wonderful world.

Good content, poor format
This is a review of the Kindle version of the book.I own the physical version as well, and heartily agree with reviews of the overall excellent content, clear explications and wonderful cross-references in the original volume.

I do not give the Kindle edition five stars for two reasons:The frequent and highly relevant cross-references, which are ripe for an electronic hypertext cross-linking capability, are not at all exploited on the Kindle.This is, I am certain, far more the fault of the publisher than the Kindle device itself.One of the things I was looking forward to with the ebook version was being able to skip around dynamically, guided by the cross-linked articles.Now, that is very difficult.The only way to accomplish it is via manual searches.

Also, many of the more esoteric symbols, such as matricies or entities with super/sub-scripts seem to be "washed out".This isn't a terrible issue, as they are still legible.

Overall, the lack of hyperlinked cross-references is the most significant shortcoming.

For such an expensive ebook, one would have expected more attention to detail.

For the Expert Only
Very briefly: This volume is about as complete a compendium of things mathematical as one will currently see. But it is for the expert, the man or woman who is versed in (pure!) mathematics. It is completely over the head and beyond persons like me who have some knowledge of applied math or accounting or business math. I therefor advise anyone who is like me to save a bunch of cash and, if interested in math, buy instead some popular exposition written for the likes of us.

Kindle version technically poor
This is a wonderful book.I have the Kindle version, but disappointingly found that the
purely mathematical portions, i.e., equations, etc. has not been incorporated into the text.
Equations, etc. appear to be low resolution images that are barely readable and need to be
"double tapped" and then appear independent of the text and are nearly pix elated.
This is obviously an example of a great book that was converted to the e-book version
in haste and has proven an obstacle to reading it in this format.
Too bad because this practice will set back adoption of the e-book revolution.
My advice:Do not buy it in the Kindle format.

An authoritative reference with encyclopedic scope
This enormous book covers the world of mathematics authoritatively and deeply: Different sections are written by experts in the specific area. Nonetheless, each section is reasonably comprehensible.

It would be unreasonable to try to read through the entire book end-to-end, although you could do that if you have nothing else to do for a year. However, if you like reading and thinking about mathematical ideas, this book will be a great place to get up-to-speed on any topic you may stumble across. Each section also has suggestions for further reading, so you can keep going beyond what has been included in the book.

If you enjoy mathematics beyond the recreational level, this book deserves a place in your personal library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Kid's Viewpoint
DON'T BOTHER. Regardless of all the positive reviews, this is busywork. I've learned more with self teaching at home than from this book. Incredibly challenging, and it takes two hours to complete one homework set. Its like this was written by high standards parents. I'm twelve! And I don't think you have to find the square root of 3428 without a calculator times x plus z to the second power when z=1.34 and x=418. Do you need that in your job? I thought so. Of course you don't! Its useless stuff.

So far I've homeschooled two daughters through...
...this and two other USCMP books and find them to be excellent...the main thing I like is that each chapter is broken down into subsections...each subsection is designed to be read on one day...on that same day the student answers questions relevant to what they just read...the next day the student does a set of problems relevant to material they read the day before plus a set of problems reviewing earlier material...this makes it easy to maintain a schedule as well as easy to slow down or accelerate according to the student's aptitude...the only thing the series lacks that most other texts don't is an accompanying workbook for supplemental problems...however, there are many of these available inexpensively from other sources...

Great back-up textbook
I was pleased with both the condition of the book and the promptness of its delivery.

[Insert title here]
I have not much to say. But for being from New Orleans and being rescued and all and trying to get used to a new school, it was tough. Then I failed math. Even worse. But this book so far is helping me catch up.

Real-life, practical, outstanding transition to 2ndary math
As a former K - 8 Mathematics Supervisor in high-flying school district, I can verify the validity of this Transition program in providing you the unique opportunity of actually being prepared for secondary mathematics of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and precalculus, if you go that far. You should study this book beyond what your teacher does with it, because it is best applied as a two-year broad introductory mathematical program. If you do so, you will not be hit with a brick wall in trying to do the dreaded word problems in algebra and beyond. This book is relevant, the math is real, and it is backed with over twenty years of acutal research, instead of authors' best guesses as to what works. But it will take getting used to. If you're willing to make the effort, doors will open in your future. ... Read more

Product Description
To experience the joy of mathematics is to realize that mathematics is not some isolated subject that has little relationship to the things around us other than to frustrate us with unbalanced checkbooks and complicated computations. Many of the phenomena around us can be described by mathematics. Mathematical concepts are even inherent in the structure of living cells. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Notice more around you than just what you see
My appreciation for Theoni Pappas is enormous as for an observer and admirer of the world around her and mathematician. These factors cannot be separated, as at first you have to do more than just look around, but you have to have a beautiful mind of a child and be an intellectualist at the same time, not just to take things for granted, but as a child be curious and ask questions and finally as an intellectualistand mathematician find answers to them.
Yet, there is more to it. It is so, as the author popularizes mathematics. She answers the basic questions about role of mathematics in our lives. Most people associate mathematics as calculating especially money, yet in mathematics the theory models or formulaare created, and it occurs that they find application in our material world sometimes evencenturies afterwards. Let us look at some examples in the book "The joy of mathematics": - earthquakes and logarithms- connection lies in the method to calculate earthquakes' magnitudes by means of Richter scale, which is logarithmic, - the catenary & the parabolic curves- who takes as an obvious phenomena- the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco- it looks gorgeous, but what it looks like is connected with construction equations, which contribute to the fundamental thing, that it really is invulnerable and cannot be destroyed by the mass itself, as well as additional natural forces. Even Galileo noticed the curve to be parabola, - Thales & the Great Pyramid- Egiptians' calculations of the height of a pyramid were based on shadows and similar triangles, -the Dome of Milan -Gothic plans incorporating the application ofgeometry and symmetry in architecture, and lots of stuff like that. If you like to notice more around you, astound your friends, you should read such books, as there is more beauty around you than what you just see.

engaging
if the discoverable arithmetic of the everyday natural world interests you, try this; and then you may want to explore her other work along this line.

These are vignettes, designed to inspire further exploration
The widely divergent reviews reflect a lack of understanding of the purpose of this book. It is meant to touch on many mathematical ideas, not to go into depth on any one idea. My son read this at age 8, then at 10, and again at 12 - getting something more out of it every time. Many of the ideas intrigued and inspired him to seek out more information on his own, to research and understand more deeply. For that purpose, it deserves the highest rating.

I did not give 5 stars because there are some instances where I did find errors, these do not detract from the purpose of the book, but they are annoying to those of us who try to delve deeper. What I consistently found myself doing is researching from the internet and other print resources. But the idea originated from the overview in the book.

Many recreational mathematics books are inaccessible to beginners or math phobes. This book allows you to sample many, many ideas without feeling overwhelmed by details you may not understand. If you want details, you go explore the world opened up by the book.

Too cursory for much use, very often misleading.
Sorry to say but this book is a dud.While the concept of presenting interesting mathematical facts is great the presentation is so brief, so wrought with errors, and so incomplete that the work is not worth perusing.

Some of the "chapters" have answers at the back of the book and some do not.It appears that the author could not make up her mind wether this was to be a "math tricks" book or a "popular mathematics" presentation substantiated by theory.

There are many other excellent books that are more fulfilling.Journey Through Genius comes to mind.

All in all a disappointing work.

A pathetic little book that could have been good
This book could have been good if the author had done a careful job of writing the text, and perhaps if the illustrations were original, and above all if the author had understood the material she was writing about.Sadly these are often not the case with this book.

Rather, this book gives every sign of being essentially copied from bits of many dozens of other books.All the illustrations appear to be low-quality xerographic copies from other books (clearly used without any permissions).

But worst of all, the book is chock full of misstatements,misconceptions, and sentences that don't convey any meaning.

This book gives the non-expert reader the impression that he or she is learning something, but a great deal of the time this is just the illusion of learning.

I will list a few of the errors and illusory learning that I can readily find:
________
p. 6:The illustration of the cycloid curve should show it to be in a vertical direction where one arch meets another; instead it is at 45 degrees to the vertical.
________
p. 7:It is stated that when marbles are released in a cycloid-shaped container, they will reach the bottom at the same time.This phenomenon occurs for a bowl whose cross-section is an *inverted* cycloid, but that is omitted.
________
p. 13:Both the "impossible tribar" and "Hyzer's optical illusion" are NOT mathematically impossible, contrary to what is written.(They can be constructed in 3 dimensions.)Twistors are mentioned but not defined, even in a rough, metaphoric way -- just not at all.
________
p. 18:It is mentioned that pi cannot be the solution of an algebraic equation with integral coefficients, but there is no discussion in the book of what such an equation is.
__________
p. 19:Also, it is stated that the probability of two randomly chosen integers' being relatively prime is 6/pi.Not only should the correct number be 6/(pi * pi), but the idea of randomly choosing an integer is left completely undiscussed, although there is no known way to do this.
________
p. 38:The Platonic solids (aka regular polyhedra) are discussed here, but although they are defined twice, neither definition is correct.(The author neglects to mention that the faces of such a solid must be *regular* polygons.)
________
p. 45:The Klein bottle is discussed and illustrated here, but there is no mention that a genuine Klein bottle cannot be constructed in ordinary 3-dimensional space.(The familiar model of a Klein bottle depicted here is a self-intersecting version of the real Klein bottle, which does not intersect itself.This is much like the fact that a picture of a knot drawn in the plane must appear as if the knot intersects itself, though it does not do so in space.)
________
p. 46:The illustration at bottom purports to show what the model of the Klein bottle would look like if it were sliced in half.The halves are erroneously shown as identical, but they should be mirror images of each other.
________
p. 78:The title of this page is "Fractals -- real or imaginary?"
This is an entirely misguided question that will only confuse the reader.All mathematical concepts are real within mathematics, and do not exist (except as approximations) in the real world.

It's a worthwhile topic in the philosophy of mathematics, and could well have been introduced in this book, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with fractals per se.
________
p. 91:Here the author attempts to describe a model ofhyperbolic geometry (in a circular disk) devised by Henri Poincaré.However, she gets it exactly backwards, saying that objects get smaller as they approach the boundary of the disk.
(She may have been well-aware of how this model works, but her prose is at best completely ambiguous.)
________
p. 96:Here it is stated that it has been proved that knots cannot exist in more than 3 dimensions.Apparently the author is unfamiliar with an extensive and thriving field of higher-dimensional knots.(For example, a sphere can be knotted in 4-dimensional space.)
________
There are many, many more such gaffes, but I fear I have gone on too long.I just wanted to make it crystal-clear that this book is riddled with erroneous and vacuous statements. ... Read more

Product Description
Study Links and Parent Letters found in the Math Masters are also available in a consumable format.These easy-to-use, grade-specific books (Grades 4-6) can save time, and they make teaching preparation easier.Study links consist of active projects, extensions of lessons, and ongoing review problems.They show parents and guardians what the students are doing in mathematics. Spanish version available -- Vinculos con el estudio ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Everyday Mathematics: Study Links: Grade 4
Great condition.Came quickly.Very helpful in being able to keep up with what my child is studying and what is coming up. ... Read more

Product Description
This sequel to the popular title furthers a reader's appreciation of just how mathematics is connected to the everyday world--and how a grasp of essential concepts can enrich one's life in innumerable ways. This fresh and lively approach to mathematics--appealing even to those who are intimidated by the world of numbers--unlocks the pleasures, mysteries, and practical applications of hundreds of mathematical concepts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Countless, clear examples of the math world around you
Many have sadly been led to believe that math is a cold, lifeless subject limited only to homework assignments and balancing your checkbook.Nothing could be further from the truth, and Pappas books show this.Her "More Joy of Mathematics" shows a vast amount of instances of where math shows up, some math history, and a few visual brain teasers.How are exponents involved in the forging that creates a powerful Samuri sword?How do the properties of an elipse make your car's headlights switch to high-beam?What math can be found in an ocean wave, the strength of a honeycomb pattern, or a nautilus shell?How is math vital to the contruction of musical instruments?Is zero really a "number", and where does the concept come from?What are some currently unsolved problems in mathematics?A total layman could understand most of the book, but to understand all the mini essays you might at least want to have knowledge of math at the high school level.

The book is a fast read, and fun to flip back and forth through, because each example is summarized in its own 1 or 2 page section, with illustrations.The same goes for "Joy of Mathematics" so you don't necessarily have to read that one first; they just contain different sets of examples.And don't think that all the good ideas were already taken for the first book -- "More Joy of Mathematics" is just as exciting to read.Plus it has a single index listing the topics from both this book and the previous one, so if you buy both it's easy to find the article you want by only looking it up once.Perfect gift for a math enthusiast at any level, and it may even covert a few "mathphobes".

A Book of Equivalent Quality to Its Predecessor
If you enjoyed Pappas' "The Joy of Mathematics," then you should love this addition to the set.This book, like its predecessor, contains adiverse collection of concise, insightful discussions about mathematicaltopics and how they relate to the observed world.It develops ideas withan elegant simplicity by providing the reader with copious amounts ofillustrations and diagrams.Pappas communicates mathematical ideas clearlyand, unlike some mathematicians, stresses their relation to the lives andexperiences of humans. She reveals the appealing aspects of the subject byexcluding the technical, logical deductions that most frequently discouragepeople from studying it.The variety of topics presented in the bookdisplays the versatility of mathematics and its relevance to humanknowledge. For students interested in exploring the meaning andsignificance of mathematics or for teachers lacking the necessary materialsto enlighten their students about these topics, this book is ideal. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is part of a series of textbooks written specifically for the OCR modular mathematics syllabus. Each book or half-book corresponds exactly to one module. Both teachers and students will enjoy using these books. Each chapter starts with a short list of learning objectives, and mathematical ideas are explained carefully and clearly, with many stimulating worked examples. There are plenty of exercises throughout, along with revision exercises and mock exam papers - all written by experienced examiners.Pure Mathematics 3 has chapters on trigonometry, parametric and implicit equations, and vectors. It also introduces further methods of differentiation and integration. ... Read more

Product Description
Offers cogent explanations of a wide range of mathematical ideas-in a format that makes it easy to locate the meaning of terms at the level of complexity required. Paper. DLC: Mathematics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Ridiculous pricing, great dictionary
First, this is a great mathematics dictionary. I've bought a number of math dictionaries over the years and this is the best I've come across. It's concise, clear, and complete. I'm not a mathematician, but I doubt it could be faulted for lag of rigor. Even so it is accessible to the non-mathematician. That said, the pricing is ridiculous. I bought the 1992 paperback edition in 1994 for $25, and that was retail, and not from a discount bookstore. Unfortunately I lost the book somewhere along the line, and am looking to replace it. However, I refuse to pay $125+ for it... it's not 10 times better than other *paperback* dictionaries that are available.

Debatably, the best dictionary for undergraduate mathematics, but lacking areas of more recent development
This is truly an outstanding mathematics dictionary.I first used the third edition and being duly impressed, I purchased the fourth and later this edition. Although, there are really only modest changes between editions.Definitions are accurate, concise, and perhaps most importantly clear, and there is broad coverage of classical undergraduate mathematical areas. However, owing to its age, mathematical topics that have risen in importance in modern times, e.g., cryptography,discrete mathematics, etc. have relatively minimal coverage. Although I have a variety of other mathematical dictionaries and handbooks, when I need the definition of a traditional mathematical term or concept, this is still the dictionary I prefer.

In addition to the standard entries, the dictionary provides excellent appendices for the translation of mathematical terms from French, German, Russian, and Spanish into English.It also provides appendices of mathematical symbols used in a variety of mathematical disciplines.Highly recommended of its coverage of classical mathematical topics, but will need supplementation if your current needs include more recent areas of mathematical interest.

BEST FOR OVER 50 YEARS!
This dictionary is the standard for students, mathematicians and scientist. It made me an A+ student 30 years ago and the latest revision is right up to date with an exponential number of math entries for the past 40 years. A must book right there with Feynman Series.

Prof. D. Remy (Retired)
... Read more

Product Description

Mathematics Elsewhere is a fascinating and important contribution to a global view of mathematics. Presenting mathematical ideas of peoples from a variety of small-scale and traditional cultures, it humanizes our view of mathematics and expands our conception of what is mathematical.

Through engaging examples of how particular societies structure time, reach decisions about the future, make models and maps, systematize relationships, and create intriguing figures, Marcia Ascher demonstrates that traditional cultures have mathematical ideas that are far more substantial and sophisticated than is generally acknowledged. Malagasy divination rituals, for example, rely on complex algebraic algorithms. And some cultures use calendars far more abstract and elegant than our own. Ascher also shows that certain concepts assumed to be universal--that time is a single progression, for instance, or that equality is a static relationship--are not. The Basque notion of equivalence, for example, is a dynamic and temporal one not adequately captured by the familiar equal sign. Other ideas taken to be the exclusive province of professionally trained Western mathematicians are, in fact, shared by people in many societies.

The ideas discussed come from geographically varied cultures, including the Borana and Malagasy of Africa, the Tongans and Marshall Islanders of Oceania, the Tamil of South India, the Basques of Western Europe, and the Balinese and Kodi of Indonesia.

This book belongs on the shelves of mathematicians, math students, and math educators, and in the hands of anyone interested in traditional societies or how people think. Illustrating how mathematical ideas play a vital role in diverse human endeavors from navigation to social interaction to religion, it offers--through the vehicle of mathematics--unique cultural encounters to any reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

So-so
This book didn't contain the information on Native American Mathematics that I was looking for, but I thought I could use it anyway.The index is very limited.The book is dry and uninteresting.Try her other book, Ethnomathematics, instead.It is much better.

Mathematics is everywhere if you know how to look, Ascher does
Mathematics is found in many places and in many forms, you only have to look for it in the right way. Ascher does that in this book. In chapter 1, "The Logic of Divination" randomization processes used in Madagascar, the Caroline Islands of the Pacific and the west coast of Africa are described. The processes are described using Boolean algebra and modular arithmetic.
Accurate calendars are an important component of most cultures and the computations used to maintain calendars in many cultures are described in chapters 2 and 3. The cyclic nature of the passage of the days is described using modular arithmetic. Some of the cultures whose calendars are explained are the Jewish; a tribe living on the island of Sumba in Indonesia called the Kodi, the Mayans of Central America and the Trobriand Islanders of the coast of New Guinea.
Chapter four deals with the tactics used by the Polynesian people as they navigated thousands of miles across the sea from one Pacific island to another. Their use of stick charts describing the paths based on wave patterns is an interesting form of graph. Relationships are the topic of chapter five, in particular the cyclic, sequential and circular structure used by the Basque people. Each person has a nearest neighbor on the "left" and on the "right" and they interact most strongly with those people when it comes to giving and receiving aid during critical times such as the harvest. Other relationship structures covered are the complex relationships in the Tonga island chain and among the Borana people of Ethiopia.
The sixth and final chapter describes figures that Tamil people in India draw on their doorsteps using white powders. The designs are so complex that they are fractal in nature and computer scientists have used them as models to develop descriptive picture languages.
Ascher describes many uses of mathematics, from the Pacific Islands of Polynesia to the tribal cultures of Africa and many places in between. This is a fascinating book and one that teachers of comparative cultures should examine. The mathematics is not difficult; it is well within the level of understanding of anyone with knowledge of basic algebra. I found it so interesting that I am now considering talking to the sociology department about the possibility of team teaching an honors level course on the use of mathematics in so-called "primitive" cultures.

refreshing!
there are very few books on ethnomathematics
out there (another good one is Mathematics
Across Cultures, Selin (ed.))

This book has the plus of smooth and enjoyable
reading, WITHOUT wattering down in content

Advisable for teachers, historians, and, in
addition, persons interested in the epistemological
problems in science.

Plese keep on writing, Marcia!

Excellent!
This is an excellent book.It sounds like an odd premise for a book - look at ideas in 'other' cultures and see how these are in essence mathematical ideas (in the western sense).However, what the author has done has turn what could be 'worthy but dull' material into a fascinating read.If you teach math (school, college or university) you will find lots of great topics to illustrate your lectures.If you just like math then this is a good read.The author has a nice style too - very easy to read.I loved this book.If you have any interest in math ideas then you will too. ... Read more

Product Description
Discover the many ways mathematics is relevant to your life with MATHEMATICS: A PRACTICAL ODYSSEY and its accompanying online resources. You'll master problem solving skills in such areas as calculating interest and understanding voting systems and come to recognize the relevance of mathematics and to appreciate its human aspect. Included with your purchase is access to the CengageNOW, an online tutorial that allows you to work with real math notation in real time, with unlimited practice problems, instant analysis and feedback, and streaming video to illustrate key concepts and Personal Tutor with SMARTHINKING a live, online mathematics tutor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

AWFUL
I ordered this book along with three others and only this book has been a nightmare. It took two emails for the man selling this book to respond with the fact that he was "out of town" and hadn't recieved money yet even though i have a receipt and the other books i ordered came and were paid for properly. Really scethcy experience when i need the book in a timely manner for class. I would recommend all students buying from this seller beware, might just get the book NEXT semester.

Very pleased!
I was very pleases with my order, it was exactly as discribed and came quickly.

Good purchase choice!
THe book was sent to me in even better condition than expected. It also came about a week earlier than the expected delivery date so all in all a very good purchase choice.

Pages books
Terrible customer service...they never contacted me after I emailed them several times. I also never received the book that I ordered. I actually had to file a claim with Amazon.

Excellant Math Book
This book is well written and easy to use, well organized and easy to use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

good tips for little learners
We were pleased with this text.It has lots of good, practical information to share, complete with pictures.I'll be trying some of their suggestions with the kindergartener I am tutoring.This text is required reading for a primary grades math methods course, and it is a valuable resource.

Great for students
A great text for new teachers who are apprehensive about teaching math in an early childhood setting.

Great!!
Fast and timely shipping. The book was in great condition.
Thank you! ... Read more

Product Description
This book is part of the Cambridge Advanced Level Mathematics series, written specifically for the OCR modular mathematics syllabus. Each book or half-book corresponds exactly to one module.Pure Mathematics 1 & 2 contains the material for modules P1 and P2 in separate halves of the book. It has chapters on algebra, functions, graphs, trigonometry and exponentials, and it introduces calculus.Each chapter starts with a short list of learning objectives, and mathematical ideas are explained carefully and clearly, with many worked examples. There are plenty of exercises throughout, along with revision exercises and mock exam papers - all written by experienced examiners. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents a unified treatment of all the major aspects of modern elementary physics and mathematics. Practical examples included to help build problem-solving skills. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Nice source book for math and physics
This is a great book for wide variety of audiences -- students in high school to professionals (engineers and scientists) with many years of math training.If you are looking for rigorous derivations or theorem/proofs, this is not the book.But if you are looking for a handy source that you can go to everyday in your professional life, then this is the book.I commend the authors for designing an accessible book with cogent presentation and exceptional clarity.

Plethora
This text is a hard to find collection of formulas, theorems, symbols and laws that took me quite some time to find. If you like math and/or physics and want to know all you can, then this text is your best bet. It is laid out logically and coherently and culminates in a unified picture of two closely related fields of study. I highly recommend it to any scientific mind. ... Read more

Product Description
This traditional, straight-forward, extremely popular book is noted for its one-step, one-concept-at-a-time approach.In the new edition, the authors have brought in new coverage to meet NCTM standards where appropriate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Buy This Book
Excellent math book even if your not a math person, I would highly recommend it to anyone in High School or Beginning College

The best basic review book I've used.
I've used this text book to hone and review my basic math skills. It happened to also be a good review and reference book for the GMAT exam if you have the extra time to study.
If you do all of the section excercise problems you can really become good at all of the individual topics.
It's also a good book if you're weak at certain basic math skills such as decimal conversion to fractions, square roots, reducing fractions, exponents and radicals, polynomials, solving quadtratic equations by factoring and other basics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Godd Book
The contents are pretty good. I bought it for my nephew and I checked the contents, I was pretty impressed about how it teaches math and I think many book should use this technique, specially physics in schools

Best math text available
First of all, let me state that I am a math teacher. I have taught using a variety of math texts and, in my professional opinion, IMP is the best by far. Compared to traditional curricula that teach procedures and algorithms, IMP teaches students how to understand math--not just how to *do* math. The program is problem-based, which allows students to interact with math in a much more authentic context than traditional texts that just require students to manipulate algebraic symbols without really understanding what any of it means. Students who use IMP enjoy taking math, understand how it is relevant to their lives, are more likely to take future math classes, are better able to communicate their ideas, and still score as well or better than peers taking traditional math. In fact, IMP has been identified by the U.S. Department of Education's Mathematics and Science Expert Panel (1999) as an exemplary mathematics program (See The Mathematics Teacher. Oct 2001 Vol.94, Iss. 7; pg. 540 for a detailed review).

For some reason, there are a lot of opponents of IMP and other reform curricula. I believe they feel threatened by a new way of learning math that is different than the way the learned it growing up. When I was in school, I learned traditional math and did well grade-wise. I got excellent grades and eventually majored in mathematics, but I did not really understand a lot of what I learned. I knew how to *do* it extremely well, but I didn't understand how to use it in the real-world. I have learned as much math *teaching* with IMP as I ever did as a math major.

There is a great deal of research on the subject, and I encourage anyone interested to look more into it instead of listening solely to myself or those with opposing opinions. ... Read more