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Exquisite expositions of mathematics taken from the first ten years of the Math Horizons magazine.
Certain constants occupy precise balancing points in the cosmos of number, like habitable planets sprinkled throughout our galaxy at just the right distances from their suns. This book introduces and connects four of these constants (φ,Π,e, and i), each of which has recently been the individual subject of historical and mathematical expositions. But here we discuss their properties, as a group, at a level appropriate for an audience armed only with the tools of elementary calculus. This material offers an excellent excuse to display the power of calculus to reveal elegant truths that are not often seen in college classes. These truths are described here via the work of such luminaries as Nilakantha, Liu Hui, Hemachandra, Khayyam, Newton, Wallis, and Euler.
This book contains 500 problems that range over a wide spectrum of areas of high school mathematics and levels of difficulty. Some are simple mathematical puzzlers while others are serious problems at the Olympiad level. Students of all levels of interest and ability will be entertained and taught by the book. For many problems, more than one solution is supplied so that students can see how different approaches can be taken to a problem and compare the elegance and efficiency of different tools that might be applied. Teachers at both the college and secondary levels will find the book useful, both for encouraging their students and for their own pleasure. Some of the problems can be used to provide a little spice in the regular curriculum by demonstrating the power of very basic techniques. This collection provides a solid base for students who wish to enter competitions at the Olympiad level. They can begin with easy problems and progress to more demanding ones. A special mathematical tool chest summarizes the results and techniques needed by competition-level students.
What does the 2000 U.S. presidential election have in common with selecting a textbook for a calculus course in your department? Was Ralph Nader's influence on the election of George W. Bush greater than the now-famous chads? In Chaotic Elections!, Don Saari analyzes these questions, placing them in the larger context of voting systems in general. His analysis shows that the fundamental problems with the 2000 presidential election are not with the courts, recounts, or defective ballots, but are caused by the very way Americans vote for president. This expository book shows how mathematics can help to identify and characterize a disturbingly large number of paradoxical situations that result ...
What can you do with a degree in math? This book addresses this question with 125 career profiles written by people with degrees and backgrounds in mathematics. With job titles ranging from sports analyst to science writer to inventory specialist to CEO, the volume provides ample evidence that one really can do nearly anything with a degree in mathematics. These professionals share how their mathematical education shaped their career choices and how mathematics, or the skills acquired in a mathematics education, is used in their daily work. The degrees earned by the authors profiled here are a good mix of bachelors, masters, and PhDs. With 114 completely new profiles since the third edition, the careers featured within accurately reflect current trends in the job market. College mathematics faculty, high school teachers, and career counselors will all find this a useful resource. Career centers, mathematics departments, and student lounges should have a copy available for student browsing. In addition to the career profiles, the volume contains essays from career counseling professionals on the topics of job-searching, interviewing, and applying to graduate school.
It is not uncommon to be frustrated by the outcome of an election or a decision in voting, law, economics, engineering, and other fields. Does this 'bad' result reflect poor data or poorly informed voters? Or does the disturbing conclusion reflect the choice of the decision/election procedure? Nobel Laureate Kenneth Arrow's famed theorem has been interpreted to mean 'no decision procedure is without flaws'. Similarly, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen dashes hope for individual liberties by showing their incompatibility with societal needs. This highly accessible book offers a new, different interpretation and resolution of Arrow's and Sen's theorems. Using simple mathematics, it shows that these negative conclusions arise because, in each case, some of their assumptions negate other crucial assumptions. Once this is understood, not only do the conclusions become expected, but a wide class of other phenomena can also be anticipated.
This groundbreaking work explores the powerful role of communities in mathematics. It introduces readers to twenty-six different mathematical communities and addresses important questions about how they form, how they thrive, and how they advance individuals and the group as a whole. The chapters celebrate how diversity and sameness bind colleagues together, showing how geography, gender, or graph theory can create spaces for colleagues to establish connections in the discipline. They celebrate outcomes measured by mathematical results and by increased interest in studying mathematics. They highlight the value of relationships with peers and colleagues at various stages of their careers. Tog...
Numerical curiosities ranging from coincidences and the first moon walk, to proposition bets involving dice and cards.
Women mathematicians of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and how they built professional identities in the face of social and institutional obstacles.