Jean Pedersen - Böcker

Focusing Your Attention The purpose of this book is Cat least) twofold. First, we want to show you what mathematics is, what it is about, and how it is done-by those who do it successfully. We are, in fact, trying to give effect to what we call, in Section 9.3, our basic principle of mathematical instruction, asserting that "mathematics must be taught so that students comprehend how and why mathematics is qone by those who do it successfully./I However, our second purpose is quite as important. We want to attract you-and, through you, future readers-to mathematics. There is general agreement in the (so-called) civilized world that mathematics is important, but only a very small minority of those who make contact with mathematics in their early education would describe it as delightful. We want to correct the false impression of mathematics as a combination of skill and drudgery, and to re­ inforce for our readers a picture of mathematics as an exciting, stimulating and engrossing activity; as a world of accessible ideas rather than a world of incomprehensible techniques; as an area of continued interest and investigation and not a set of procedures set in stone.

The goal of Mathematical Vistas is to stimulate the interest of bright people in mathematics. The book consists of nine related mathematical essays which will intrigue and inform the curious reader. In order to offer a broad spectrum of exciting developments in mathematics, topics are treated at different levels of depth and thoroughness. Some chapters can be understood completely with little background, others can be thought of as appetizers for further study. A number of BREAKS are included in each chapter. These are problems designed to test the reader's understanding of the material thus far in the chapter. This book is a sequel to the authors's popular book "Mathematical Reflections" and can be read independently.

This easy-to-read 2010 book demonstrates how a simple geometric idea reveals fascinating connections and results in number theory, the mathematics of polyhedra, combinatorial geometry, and group theory. Using a systematic paper-folding procedure it is possible to construct a regular polygon with any number of sides. This remarkable algorithm has led to interesting proofs of certain results in number theory, has been used to answer combinatorial questions involving partitions of space, and has enabled the authors to obtain the formula for the volume of a regular tetrahedron in around three steps, using nothing more complicated than basic arithmetic and the most elementary plane geometry. All of these ideas, and more, reveal the beauty of mathematics and the interconnectedness of its various branches. Detailed instructions, including clear illustrations, enable the reader to gain hands-on experience constructing these models and to discover for themselves the patterns and relationships they unearth.

This easy-to-read 2010 book demonstrates how a simple geometric idea reveals fascinating connections and results in number theory, the mathematics of polyhedra, combinatorial geometry, and group theory. Using a systematic paper-folding procedure it is possible to construct a regular polygon with any number of sides. This remarkable algorithm has led to interesting proofs of certain results in number theory, has been used to answer combinatorial questions involving partitions of space, and has enabled the authors to obtain the formula for the volume of a regular tetrahedron in around three steps, using nothing more complicated than basic arithmetic and the most elementary plane geometry. All of these ideas, and more, reveal the beauty of mathematics and the interconnectedness of its various branches. Detailed instructions, including clear illustrations, enable the reader to gain hands-on experience constructing these models and to discover for themselves the patterns and relationships they unearth.

Focusing YourAttention We have called this book Mathematical Vistas because we have already published a companion book MathematicalRefiections in the same series;1 indeed, the two books are dedicated to the same principal purpose - to stimulate the interest ofbrightpeople in mathematics.Itis not our intention in writing this book to make the earlier book aprerequisite, but it is, of course, natural that this book should contain several references to its predecessor. This is especially - but not uniquely- true of Chapters 3, 4, and 6, which may be regarded as advanced versions of the corresponding chapters in Mathematical Reflections. Like its predecessor, the present work consists of nine chapters, each devoted to a lively mathematical topic, and each capable, in principle, of being read independently of the other chapters.' Thus this is not a text which- as is the intention of most standard treatments of mathematical topics - builds systematically on certain common themes as one proceeds 1Mathematical Reflections - In a Room with Many Mirrors, Springer Undergraduate Texts in Math­ ematics, 1996; Second Printing 1998. We will refer to this simply as MR. 2There was an exception in MR; Chapter 9 was concerned with our thoughts on the doing and teaching of mathematics at the undergraduate level.