Book Description

This collection brings together classic, previously-published articles and new research to present the emerging field of ethnomathematics from a critical perspective, challenging particular ways in which Eurocentrism permeates mathematics education. The contributors identify several of the field's broad themes--reconsidering what counts as mathematical knowledge, considering interactions between culture and mathematical knowledge, and uncovering hidden and distorted histories of mathematical knowledge. The book offers a diversity of ethnomathematics perspectives that develop both theoretical and practical issues from various disciplines including mathematics, mathematics education, history, anthropology, cognitive psychology, feminist studies, and African studies written by authors from Brazil, England, Australia, Mozambique, Palestine, Belgium, and the United States. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Mathematics of Wishful Thinking
Does a triangle have 3 sides? Is 1+1=2? As any schoolboy or -girl knows, mathematics is not ethnocentric -- only people (and their attendant pedagogical practices) are. Does ethnomathematics secrete a corrupt (ethnocentric) ethics and rest on a naive "constructivist" epistemology? Mathematical entities and relations submit to our (cultural, raced-based, gender-specific, or personal) wishes and intentions to the same degree as, apparently, our capacity, as ethnomathematicians, to think clearly about and act ethically in the world: viz., not at all! (Of course, some of us are determined, against every bit of logic and normative theorizing, to have our way in the world.) Don't waste your money or time on this work of fiction.

One of the dumbest ideas ever
The books represents that a mathematical observation is to some extent dependent on the culture of the observer. This is, at best, a misrepresentation. An equilateral triangle does not change in properties, no matter what the culture of the observer. Two + Two will always equal four. One of the most useful aspects of mathematics is that it is not relative to the culture of the observer. What is mathematically true remains true. If two observers do not agree about a mathematical property, one is wrong or incomplete. It may be that it is the European view that is wrong, I am sure that not all mathematical truth is known yet. It may never be. What is true about mathematical observation is not variable with culture.

Excellent: Mathematics educators must read/study the text
Drs. Powell and Frankenstein have written an excellent reference for mathematics educators. The book presents a well documented argument in favor of teaching mathematics from a multicultural perspective. The chapter on Marx and Mathematics was of particular interest to me because many students of calculus do not know about Marx's interest in the development of the derivative. The book also points out that it is important for students to know that the genesis of mathematics began in Africa. The book includes a comprehensive list of bibliographical references. In my opinion, this book receives an "A". Mathematicians, mathematics educators, and practitioners of mathematics should carefully study the text. I will definitely recommend this book to my colleagues. Skeptics and proponents of ethnomathematics would benefit from this book. This is an excellent piece of literature in the field of mathematics education and ethnomathematics.

Dr. Eduardo Arismendi-Pardi, Professor of Mathematics, Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, P. O. Box 5005, Costa Mesa, California 92628-5005. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Respect
Wooden Books have done it again. Quite how they managed to fit the major equations from Maths and Physics into one tiny cartoon book is quite beyond me. With a great little Wizard and a pair of elf-things to help you get the picture, this book covers algebra, statistics, geometry, probabilities, trigonometry, mechanics and so much more you wont believe it. With metric-imperial conversion stuff at the back and iterative functions too, this is the present of choice for any maths fan out there. New Scientist Magazine UK gave it 9 out of 10, so I'll give it 5 stars here! ... Read more

Book Description

The GNU Scientific Library (GSL) is a numerical library for C and C++ programmers. It provides over 1,000 routines for solving mathematical problems in science and engineering. Written by the developers of GSL this reference manual is the definitive guide to the library.

The GNU Scientific Library is free software, distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It is available for GNU (GNU/Linux), Unix and Microsoft Windows systems.

This is the second edition of the manual, and corresponds to version 1.3 of the library. ... Read more

Book Description

A fascinating journey into the mind-bending world of prime numbers

Cicadas of the genus Magicicada appear once every 7, 13, or 17 years. Is it just a coincidence that these are all prime numbers? How do twin primes differ from cousin primes, and what on earth (or in the mind of a mathematician) could be sexy about prime numbers? What did Albert Wilansky find so fascinating about his brother-in-law's phone number?

Mathematicians have been asking questions about prime numbers for more than twenty-five centuries, and every answer seems to generate a new rash of questions. In Prime Numbers: The Most Mysterious Figures in Math, you'll meet the world's most gifted mathematicians, from Pythagoras and Euclid to Fermat, Gauss, and Erd¿o¿s, and you'll discover a host of unique insights and inventive conjectures that have both enlarged our understanding and deepened the mystique of prime numbers. This comprehensive, A-to-Z guide covers everything you ever wanted to know—and much more that you never suspected—about prime numbers, including:

• The unproven Riemann hypothesis and the power of the zeta function
• The "Primes is in P" algorithm
• The sieve of Eratosthenes of Cyrene
• Fermat and Fibonacci numbers
• The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search
• And much, much more

Book Description

This book presents a development of the frequency-domain approach to the stability study of stationary sets of systems with discontinuous nonlinearities. The treatment is based on the theory of differential inclusions and the second Lyapunov method. Various versions of the Kalman–Yakubovich lemma on solvability of matrix inequalities are presented and discussed in detail. It is shown how the tools developed can be applied to stability investigations of relay control systems, gyroscopic systems, mechanical systems with a Coulomb friction, nonlinear electrical circuits, cellular neural networks, phase-locked loops, and synchronous machines. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is primarily a textbook introduction to various areas of discrete geometry. In each area, it explains several key results and methods, in an accessible and concrete manner. It also contains more advanced material in separate sections and thus it can serve as a collection of surveys in several narrower subfields. The main topics include: basics on convex sets, convex polytopes, and hyperplane arrangements; combinatorial complexity of geometric configurations; intersection patterns and transversals of convex sets; geometric Ramsey-type results; polyhedral combinatorics and high-dimensional convexity; and lastly, embeddings of finite metric spaces into normed spaces. ... Read more

Book Description

Whether one is adjusting the settings of a camera, doing financial planning, or just talking about the weather, everyone is involved in mathematics every day. Theoni Pappas explores some of the many areas in which one least expects to find “math stuff.” Readers learn how computers get stressed out, how epaper works, and how codes and numbers affect the body. “Pappas demystifies mathematics.” — The New York Times ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Math Stuff is Awful
I haven't finished Math Stuff - I couldn't. It's full of errors both grammatical and factual. What finally stopped me was the chapter, "mathematical private eyes", page 27. In its three pages the word isotropic appears ten times. The correct word is isotopic. One sentence reads, "The isotropic ratios for coca leaves are determined by comparing the ratio of its carbon and nitrogen atom." Not "atoms"! And comparing the ratio to what?! This sort of sloppiness occurs throughout the book. The topics are interesting, but the treatment is terrible, and not fit for educational material. If you don't buy this book, you will save Theoni Pappas some embarrassment! ... Read more

Book Description

This extremely well-written, straightforward book gives you the flexibility to cover regression more thoroughly than do most statistics texts, without financially taxing your students, and is written at a level that undergraduate students can easily comprehend.

Reviews (1)

Useful for review
This book provided a very helpful review before my doctoral defense ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Incredibly handy
One of the best pocket sized mathematics references I have found all around.

Concise, fluid easily readable reference for students
A great bridge between a sometimes confusing text presentation and conceptual understanding. I will recommend Barron's as a must for my Algebra 1,2 and Honors students. Barron's is a valuable supplement for any secondary or post secondary mathematics program, keep it by your side.

An EXTREMELY useful pocket sized reference for the sciences
I am a second year Math/Physics student in college and this book is an invaluable resource for just about any formula, trig. subsitution, integral/derivative identity, mathematical terminology or concept in general. If you've ever found yourself searching for some mathematical expression, or the meaning of some obscure symbol, chances are it's in this book. Breif, clear, and concise definitions along with simple, yet descriptive visual aids. A must for any undergraduate science student.

Handy dictionary of mathematics
I am an undergraduate engineering student, and I use this dictionary often. The entries vary in length from a sentence to a few pages. The explanations are well-written and understandable. All in all, a useful reference. ... Read more

Book Description

The Words of Mathematics explains the origins of over 1500 mathematical terms used in English. While other dictionaries of mathematics define technical terms, this book concentrates on where those terms came from and what their literal meanings are. The words included here range from simple to advanced. This dictionary is easy to use. Although some of the entries are highly technical, the book explains them in plain English. The introduction gives an overview of how the ancient language known as Indo-European developed into Latin, Greek, French and English, the languages from which most of our mathematical vocabulary has been derived. Another section discusses the many ways in which mathematicians have borrowed and created their specialized vocabulary over the centuries. A glossary explains historical and linguistic terms used throughout the book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Something Pithy
Never have I found a more profoundly helpful text as this, Mr. Steven Schwarztman's opus. My love for this book is like the tangent of pi over two; it goes on forever! I reference it often and have bought several copies already. (for the living room, office, water closet, etc.) Sometimes I find myself lost in Mr. Schartzman's mathematical world of words. The masterful organization of each entry is truly a visual delight. Hats off to you Steven! Bravo.

The history of mathematics through words
Words are the currency used in all types of human interactions, but in mathematics they have more precise meanings than in most others. However, while this book is valuable as a reference concerning the definitions of the words, the greatest point of interest is in the origins of their mathematical meanings. I have always been interested in word origins, particularly how the meaning is modified over time. Languages are very dynamic entities, as even the passing of a few generations can lead to significant alterations in both structure and vocabulary.
For these reasons, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, making it one of the few dictionaries that I have read nearly cover to cover, although not in that order. Many of the mathematical words have unexpected origins, reflecting in many ways how ubiquitous mathematics is in life. Also, since it is largely an abstract discipline, some of the words had to be "invented", as there was no real-world analog that adequately describes them.
If you have an interest in the linguistic derivation of mathematical words, then this is one book that you should possess. I occasionally open it at random, and I have never been disappointed in the interesting facts uncovered. Reading them also builds an appreciation for how mathematics has evolved over the centuries.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A great reference, definitely not instructional
Having worked through two thirds of the book I have found it extremely frustrating. The main problem is the lack of defined examples, poor proofs and discussion of material that is superfluous to the subject matter. The layout is also extremely poor which was evidenced by the large number of revisions between edition 3 and 4. To understand just how poor the proofs and descriptions are have a comparison to Thomas/Finney or Anton, the number of pages devoted to each section is usually a third greater and more detailed. The greatest frustration is the poor referencing of examples and proofs to past proofs or examples (re: Howard Anton).

In conclusion its a great reference because it covers the many areas of calculus but as an educational text it is most unhelpful.

A excellent text
I am surprised at the poor reviews of this text. Though some complain that there is a "lack of explanation" in proofs and in exercises in the study guide, I prefer Adams's approach as it forces the reader to think while reading. Working through a proof or example should not be done in order to memorize one line of thought but rather to *learn* the concepts and as an exercise in itself. I do not think that Adams is overly demanding--he pushes the reader, but not too hard. The exercises are well thought out and often challenging, and the text is extremely helpful. I do admit that some problems and examples took me quite some time to figure out, but the time invested was well worth it. I would suggest that you take a look at the book and study guide for yourself and not to take the reviews of it too seriously (borrow it from your university library). This text is especially suitable for an honours class in first year calculus. It is perhaps in between something like Edwards and Penney and Spivak: not as easy as the former, but not as demanding as the latter.

Great reference text
I was very surprised to see the poor score of this book. I think it is great. It is very well set out and cleverly leads the reader by the hand to ideas and theories of calculus. The chapters read well and diagrams illustrate the ideas effectively. I have used it throughout my maths degree and is also helpful for other maths topics such as linear programming. All my class mates agree that it is a classic text!

calculas a complete course
A text for a calculas course should not include this one. Although there are good examples, for a general understanding how calculas works with some applications. This is not recommended for applied mathematics.

It follows that...
How many times after you have read a math or physics book that you want to just go to the author and tell him/her that IT'S NOT OBVIOUS! Well, this is one of those books. Granted, the exercises are fairly well thought up and present a challenge to the reader, but the author, in his solutions (in the solutions manual) too often write down one equation and skip to the last step and the reader is left wondering, "what happened?" The same can be said of the proofs in the book. The author teaches at the school where I go to and from what I've heard from others who've had him, is a pretty good prof, but this book is just too assuming of the reader. Try Spivak, or for multivariable calculus, Stewart's text. ... Read more

Book Description

From best-selling author Donald McQuarrie comes his newest text, Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers. Intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in chemistry, physics, math and engineering, this book will also become a must-have for the personal library of all advanced students in the physical sciences.Comprised of more than 2000 problems and 700 worked examples that detail every single step, this text is exceptionally well adapted for self study as well as for course use.Famous for his clear writing, careful pedagogy, and wonderful problems and examples, McQuarrie has crafted yet another tour de force.  

Artwork from this textbook and original animations by Mervin Hanson may be viewed and downloaded by adopting professors and their students.Figures that display the time evolution of an equation and the result of the variation of a parameter have been rendered as QuickTime movies. These movies can be displayed as animations or by using the single-step feature of QuickTime. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

physics guy
I loved this book. It's got all the necessary topics, and occaisionally if you look in the right place a neat trick. I majored in math and took two math methods classes all of which used different books and I think this is your one stop shop for it all. My only complaint is that the material is basic. best probably for undergrads majoring in math/phys/chem/engin

The books is worthless and priced to much
The book is essentially like calculus for people who are considered dummies by dummies. Its too easy and I don't think there are people out there who are as stupid and still take calculus as the author hopes to find. I had to buy it because my professor had put it as required. A much terser book is by Arfken and Weber.

Consolidation not Improvement
I looked at the table of contents for this book and determined that I already have every chapter in this book in my math books, and ones that can be found for less total than this book (using Dover). If you can handle looking in more than one book, you can get this entire book from one of each of the following: introductory analysis (Taylor & Mann, among others), any diffeq text and your choice of Dover books on complex analysis. There is no point to owning this book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Calming a bad case of math jitters is easier than parents and students might think. Secondary school math is, in essence, a new language, with new meanings assigned to words such as "altitude," "area," "axis," and "absolute." No wonder many an otherwise adept student gets bogged down. Barron's Mathematics Study Dictionary deftly and reassuringly resolves this predicament. Arranged alphabetically by themes (with vocabulary and definitions for "arithmetic," "conic sections," "formulas for shapes," and "probability," for example), and with a "Wordfinder" cross-reference (abbreviations to "Z- angles") to help locate specific confusing terms, the study dictionary helps explain the vocabulary of mathematics, translating lessons and homework back into plain English. --Stephanie Gold ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An indispensible reference
My 12 year old (who hates math) picked up this book and said "awesome!" My 17 year old, who is taking pre-calculus, was fascinated - exclaiming, "I never knew that about circles!"

This study dictionary defines and explains mathematical terms and functions in a comprehensive, dictionary-style format. The information is geared for students from pre-algebra through college.

This is simply a reference that every student should have. The definitions and illustrated examples are grouped by concept. When you look up a term, you will find it on a page with all the other terms related to the same mathematical function. For example, the word "denominator" will be found under "fractions". In fact, just reading the definitions on any given page is a good introduction to the subject.

A comprehensive 'wordfinder' index at the begining of the book directs you to the right page. This book would be a bargain at twice the price. (It probably will make more sense to your kids than the explanations in their textbooks). ... Read more

Book Description

• More than 200 completely solved problems and an equal number ofsupplementary problems facilitate the understanding of database technology
• Complete scripts allow students to create and populate all databases used in the book
• Syntax and database technology employed by the most important database developers are featured, including Oracle, Microsoft Access, and DB2
• Lab and practice tests similar to the tests currently used in the database certification exams for database developers are included to help students master database problems ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Concise and thorough intro to relational database concepts
This book is ideal for those of us who need to refresh knowledge and skills of relational databases that may have been unused for a few years, or for people who need to understand relational database concepts in a hurry.

It starts with concepts that are essential to understanding relational databases, then introduces you to SQL. If you are working with Oracle you will find that standard SQL and Oracle's SQL*Plus are quite different in that SQL*Plus has a richer set of verbs. Regardless, the intro to SQL is valuable and it provides you with the ability to write queries for real world needs. The examples will work with DB2, Oracle of any other database that will understand standard SQL, making this book product-independent and invaluable.

The sections that I especially liked covered normalization and entity-relationship models. These are basic knowledge factors that are essential to understanding relational databases, and are the heart and soul of the book.

This book's value is that it's straightforward and presents a lot of material in a short number of pages. It is not for non-technical people in my opinion because the writing is sparse and terse. However, if you have an understanding of data or want a fast refresh this book will save you time by cutting through the fluff. ... Read more

Book Description

Mathematics teachers and school library media specialists will find this book a valuable resource for using the Web to promote critical thinking in the high school mathematics classroom. It is filled with instructional strategies and an expansive set of activities that cover a broad array of mathematics topics spanning from prealgebra through calculus. The questions and activities in this book will help students meet the standards set forth by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics. ... Read more

Book Description

A classic problem in mathematics is solving systems of polynomial equations in several unknowns. Today, polynomial models are ubiquitous and widely used across the sciences. They arise in robotics, coding theory, optimization, mathematical biology, computer vision, game theory, statistics, and numerous other areas.

This book furnishes a bridge across mathematical disciplines and exposes many facets of systems of polynomial equations. It covers a wide spectrum of mathematical techniques and algorithms, both symbolic and numerical.

The set of solutions to a system of polynomial equations is an algebraic variety--the basic object of algebraic geometry. The algorithmic study of algebraic varieties is the central theme of computational algebraic geometry. Exciting recent developments in computer software for geometric calculations have revolutionized the field. Formerly inaccessible problems are now tractable, providing fertile ground for experimentation and conjecture.

The first half of the book gives a snapshot of the state of the art of the topic. Familiar themes are covered in the first five chapters, including polynomials in one variable, Gröbner bases of zero-dimensional ideals, Newton polytopes and Bernstein's Theorem, multidimensional resultants, and primary decomposition.

The second half of the book explores polynomial equations from a variety of novel and unexpected angles. It introduces interdisciplinary connections, discusses highlights of current research, and outlines possible future algorithms. Topics include computation of Nash equilibria in game theory, semidefinite programming and the real Nullstellensatz, the algebraic geometry of statistical models, the piecewise-linear geometry of valuations and amoebas, and the Ehrenpreis-Palamodov theorem on linear partial differential equations with constant coefficients.

Throughout the text, there are many hands-on examples and exercises, including short but complete sessions in Maple®, MATLAB®, Macaulay 2, Singular, PHCpack, CoCoA, and SOSTools. These examples will be particularly useful for readers with no background in algebraic geometry or commutative algebra. Within minutes, readers can learn how to type in polynomial equations and actually see some meaningful results on their computer screens.

Prerequisites include basic abstract and computational algebra. The book is designed as a text for a graduate course in computational algebra. ... Read more

Book Description

The easiest way to solve the hardest problems! Geometry's extensive use of figures and visual calculations make its word problems especially difficult to solve. This book picks up where most textbooks leave off, making techniques for solving problems easy to grasp and offering many illustrative examples to make learning easy. Each year more than two million students take high school or remedial geometry courses. Geometry word problems are abstract and especially hard to solve--this guide offers detailed, easy-to-follow solution procedures. Emphasizes the mechanics of problem-solving. Includes worked-out problems and a 50-question self-test with answers. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Doesn't live up to its title
This book is, at best, a quick review for those already familiar with the subject. The "word problems" are the same type of basic problems one would find in any geometry textbook; in other words, there are no interesting real-life story problems. To accommodate the book's small size, pictures and diagrams are sacrificed in favor of endless definitions. Example: "Adjacent angles are two angles in a plane that have a common vertex and a common side but no common interior points." This approach makes the book concise, but dry.

Consice review, but has typos
The book has a concise review of geometry. It lists about five to ten related theorems at a time, and then gives about two examples for each. This would be a good review of geometry for someone who is preparing for the SAT or GMAT if there were not so many typos. There are typos such has having the wrong diagram for a given question and listing questions that are not consistent with information in the associated diagrams.

If you are learning geometry for the first time or expect difficulty in re-learning geometry, I would not recommend this book. However, if you need just a quick geometry refresher, then you can probably detect the typos without too much frustration and learn the basic theorems of geometry.

You Need More Practice and More Review? Buy if you must!
This book hardly teaches "how to solve word problem in Geometry". It just crams as much geometry definitions and theorems as it can into small space which can only confuse students that are already confused. In fact, the listing of concepts are not ordered well either.

I almost gave this book 1 star rating since I strongly believed this book DID NOT do the job as its' cover seem to promise. But!...I gave the author some credit for her good intentions and thought about some that it MIGHT benefit...

First, she gives us the shortest Geometry review ever! (I think even Cliff Notes does more)...and points to couple of examples that are somewhat helpful. It adds short exercises (about 10 per chapter) with complete solutions (which is nice). Yes, it may be good for those that want to quickly review (or the quickest review), but there are other books out there that are MUCH more...MUCH better.

I recommend: Geometry the Easy Way by L. Leff. And in many Test Prep. books like those of SAT and GRE contains surprisingly good reviews on Geometry with very insightful problems. I personally like Kaplan's materials.

One more note: The other book of this series "How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra" on the contrary does an excellent job! It really helps. ... Read more

Book Description

Empower Yourself. Conquer Math Anxiety.

Whether you want to sharpen your skills for school or standardized tests, better manage your personal and business finances, or just make more sense out of sports statistics, this book will boost your math skills and confidence. Covering all the math skills an educated person should know, Kaplan Math Power is the essential mathematics guide for non-mathematicians.

Kaplan Math Power includes: • A thorough review of key content areas, including algebra, percents, geometry, and probability
• Engaging real world examples to help you apply math in school, on standardized tests, at work, and even at play
• A user-friendly organization that adapts to your needs
• Clear explanations of all practice material
• A glossary of key terms ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Excellent for Review & Reference
I purchased this book a couple of years ago when I was preparing to take the GRE, and I desperately needed some math review. The book was perfect for that purpose, but I've also found myself referring to it many times since then. It's a great reference for all that math you had in high-school and/or college and don't use enough to keep fresh in your mind. I've used it quite a few times at work as well as with some of the classes I've taken in grad school (Computer Science). The only think that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is the lack of an index, which makes it difficult to look up specific topics. The book is small enough and so well organized, though, that that is a minor annoyance.

Needs a better review for accuracy
Lots of good explanations - but also many sidebars which don't help. Biggest problem is lots of errors in the math examples which hopefully will be caught if reprinted:
pg20 - 94 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 (meant to be 96=2x2x2x2x2x3)
pg21 - this time correct prime factorization but still says 94
pg100 - products of 4 & 9 roots mixes addition and multiplication... 3 errors in the step-by-step process; complicated by using yet another "+" when should be "X" in the description afterwards.
pg103 - denominator of final answer should be 5, not 15
Frustrating I've been marking the book up for errors.

helpful
helpful math review I recieved a lot out of reading this book.

Excellent!
I found this math book to be very well written and very helpful. I used this book to teach myself complex math and simple math for job exams. This is a great choice for a study guide.

Good review for the GMAT
Covers the vast majority of math material that you will encounter on the GMAT. The author's style is conversational, so this book is especially good for people who are more verbal oriented than math oriented. Explanations are easy to follow but also in a good amount of depth. I especially liked the explanations of how everyday formulas were derived. Much better than just memorizing the formulas. Not a lot of practice problems, so you'll have to get those elsewhere.

Definitely skip the introduction. It will insult your intelligence and make you want to burn the book. Nevertheless, the remaining 18 chapters are solid. ... Read more