Impossible? (eBook)

Surprising Solutions to Counterintuitive Conundrums

Julian Havil (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2011
264 Seiten
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-1-4008-2967-5 (ISBN)

Infos

In Nonplussed!, popular-math writer Julian Havil delighted readers with a mind-boggling array of implausible yet true mathematical paradoxes. Now Havil is back with Impossible?, another marvelous medley of the utterly confusing, profound, and unbelievable-and all of it mathematically irrefutable.Whenever Forty-second Street in New York is temporarily closed, traffic doesn't gridlock but flows more smoothly-why is that? Or consider that cities that build new roads can experience dramatic increases in traffic congestion-how is this possible? What does the game show Let's Make A Deal reveal about the unexpected hazards of decision-making? What can the game of cricket teach us about the surprising behavior of the law of averages? These are some of the counterintuitive mathematical occurrences that readers encounter in Impossible?Havil ventures further than ever into territory where intuition can lead one astray. He gathers entertaining problems from probability and statistics along with an eclectic variety of conundrums and puzzlers from other areas of mathematics, including classics of abstract math like the Banach-Tarski paradox. These problems range in difficulty from easy to highly challenging, yet they can be tackled by anyone with a background in calculus. And the fascinating history and personalities associated with many of the problems are included with their mathematical proofs. Impossible? will delight anyone who wants to have their reason thoroughly confounded in the most astonishing and unpredictable ways.

Autor

Julian Havil is a retired former master at Winchester College, England, where he taught mathematics for thirty-three years. In addition to Nonplussed!, he is the author of Gamma: Exploring Euler's Constant (both Princeton).

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 28.3.2011
• Zusatzinfo: 75 line illus.
• Verlagsort: Princeton
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Angewandte Mathematik
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Mathematische Spiele und Unterhaltung
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: African Americans • algebraic number • American Mathematical Monthly • Approximation • Axiom • Axiom of choice • Benford's Law • binary tree • Braess' paradox • Calculation • circumference • coefficient • Common Knowledge • Common knowledge (logic) • complex number • Computation • conjecture • continued fraction • Contradiction • Cost curve • Countable set • David Hilbert • DIAMETER • Equation • equilateral triangle • estimation • Fair coin • Floor and ceiling functions • Fractional part • Geometry • Georg Cantor • Goldbach's conjecture • Gottlob Frege • Hamming code • Harmonic series (mathematics) • Hypocycloid • Illustration • inference • Integer • Jacob Bernoulli • Leonhard Euler • Likelihood Function • Line segment • logarithm • Logic • Marilyn vos Savant • martin gardner • Mathematical Induction • mathematician • Mathematics • Monty Hall problem • mortality rate • Mutual knowledge (logic) • Natural number • Notation • number line • parallelogram • parallel postulate • polynomial • Power of 10 • Power of two • Prime number • Probability • probability of success • Probability Theory • Proportionality (mathematics) • Pseudocode • Quantity • Random Variable • Rational number • real number • Recurrence relation • result • Riemann integral • riffle • Right angle • Right triangle • scale invariance • scientific notation • Secretary problem • Sequence • Series (mathematics) • Significant figures • Simpson's paradox • Special case • Statistic • Subjectivity • Subset • Summation • Surface Area • Taylor series • Theorem • theory • Traffic Flow • Transfinite number • Trigonometric Functions • two-dimensional space • wallpaper group • Well-order • Zorn's lemma
• ISBN-10: 1-4008-2967-4 / 1400829674
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4008-2967-5 / 9781400829675