| Mathematics for the Nonmathematician (Dover books explaining science)
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Erudite and entertaining overview follows development of mathematics from ancient Greeks, through Middle Ages and Renaissance to the present. Chapters focus on Logic and Mathematics, the Number, the Fundamental Concept, Differential Calculus, the Theory of Probability and much more. Exercises and problems.
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- ISBN13: 9780486248233- Condition: New
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By Selm Nasir (Turkey)
Mathematics has its own beauty if you can look at its big picture. Just a few books can draw on your mind this broad picture. So "Mathematics for the Nonmathematician" is the one that you've come to expect to observe mathematics story in its entirety and beauty. Some parts of the book, i.e the notion of derivative, have been made clear in plain English even better than ordinary college textbooks. So written almost 50 years ago, this book still retains its freshness. So why don't you become the one who understands mathematics even better?
By Ashley Marie (Florida)
Plain and simple- this book is a must have! I cannot sing enough praise of Morris Kline's composition. His pages have really has helped me put the world of mathematics and science into a comprehensive perspective.
Shipping was fast and reliable. I will definitely seek service for future business.
By Austin Somlo (Vincentown, NJ)
Mathematics for the Nonmathematician is a fair read. Somehow, it feels a lot more a suitable book for anyone wishing to become a mathematician but isn't sure what it is like. There is some good stuff to learn from, and sometimes, there are worked out solutions to problems in almost every chapter. All in all, you can't go wrong with Mathematics for the Nonmathematician.
By Daniel Myers (Greenville, SC USA)
A spectrum exists in the books written by or about mathematicians and mathematics, and this spectrum is heavily weighted at the extremes. At one end, we have books purely verbal, descriptive and, more often than not, hagiographic in their descriptions of great mathematicians and their discoveries. - I suppose one could denominate these as mathematics groupie books. At the other end of the spectrum, we have straightforward mathematics textbooks, rather dry and boring, which roll off the presses with the regularity of the academic terms. To split the difference, to write a literate, narrative book on mathematics, is to attempt something akin to the labours of Hercules and, in the end, impossible to do perfectly, rather like trisecting an angle. Kline, however, does a bang-up job here, and approaches the limit - so to speak - of what is possible. Good show, Morris! But, as many other reviewers have made clear, this book should have printed across its cover the words above the entrance to Plato's Academy: "Let no man ignorant of mathematics enter here." It is a bit of a catch-22 for someone who wants to learn mathematics but is put off by textbooks; you really have to already possess a fluency in the mathematical tongue, to possess a flair for the subject, in order to appreciate the sweep of this really quite grand book. Some pages of the book are simply equation followed by equation leading to a satisfying simplification or representing a derivation. If you can't follow these steps - sometimes quite involved - then you simply won't arrive at the "Aha!" moments which are the chief delight of this book. To quote Kline, "In his wisdom, Thales perceived what we shall perceive as we follow the story of mathematics, that the obvious is far more suspect than the abstruse." The abstruse insights in which this book abounds can only be reached by a competent grasp of mathematical methodology.
That being said, Kline is a whimsical and almost lyrical writer - a bit of a shocker for a book on mathematics! He has a wry wit which he gives full rein to herein. In describing the Greeks and their obsession with astronomy, he observes, "The problem of finding the design of planetary motions continued to engage the minds of the Greeks, possibly because they were not distracted by the `heavenly' stars of stage, screen, and radio with whom many modern minds seem preoccupied." His prose is rich in such quips. The book is actually a lark to read at points.
But the heart of the book is unvarnished mathematics - with which I have a slight problem. He covers the derivation of trigonometric functions splendidly, as well as their uses, as well as the kinetics, or mathematics of motion. But his account of the calculus is rather sparse for my taste. Any treatment of derivatives and integrals without mention, account or derivation of the fundamental theorem is, to my mind, lacking. Further, his derivation of the quadratic formula is absurdly complex and takes pages. It is true, as one reviewer noted, that most students are only presented with the equation and not given its derivation. But the derivation is - comparatively - simple. I worked it out on my own when I was in school, and it need only cover one page, at maximum.
The book is really quite an achievement. But I'm only giving it four stars because it is extremely uneven: No fundamental theorem of the calculus but reams about projectile motion etc. As a bonus, I'll tack on as a comment, once the review is posted, Kline's mischievous proof that 2=1 for the prospective reader to see if he can suss out the flaw in it. If the mathematics leaves you stymied this is not the book for you. On the other hand, if you follow the mathematics quite easily, but are left baffled and staring at the page, determined to suss out the mathematical solecism embedded in it, then you poseess just the sort of questing mind that will delight in this tome!
By Lee Hong Kyu (Seoul Korea)
Asians did not develop science or mathematics as Greeks did. People here in Korea are still talking about ancient things while Galilleo and Newton solved problem hundred years ago. When a friend of mine read this book he cried, because of his long term ignorance of wisdom western tradition made and written in this book. Zhu Si asked his student study nature, exactly the kind of works Galilleo did, but they repeated those teaching without doing experiment. Cofucians are still teaching what Zhu Si said.
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