The Moment of Proof: Mathematical Epiphanies
Oxford University Press (1999)
| Abstract | When Archimedes, while bathing, suddenly hit upon the principle of buoyancy, he ran wildly through the streets of Syracuse, stark naked, crying "eureka!" In The Moment of Proof, Donald Benson attempts to convey to general readers the feeling of eureka--the joy of discovery--that mathematicians feel when they first encounter an elegant proof. This is not an introduction to mathematics so much as an introduction to the pleasures of mathematical thinking. And indeed the delights of this book are many and varied. The book is packed with intriguing conundrums--Loyd's Fifteen Puzzle, the Petersburg Paradox, the Chaos Game, the Monty Hall Problem, the Prisoners' Dilemma--as well as many mathematical curiosities. We learn how to perform the arithmetical proof called "casting out nines" and are introduced to Russian peasant multiplication, a bizarre way to multiply numbers that actually works. The book shows us how to calculate the number of ways a chef can combine ten or fewer spices to flavor his soup (1,024) and how many people we would have to gather in a room to have a 50-50 chance of two having the same birthday (23 people). But most important, Benson takes us step by step through these many mathematical wonders, so that we arrive at the solution much the way a working scientist would--and with much the same feeling of surprise. Every fan of mathematical puzzles will be enthralled by The Moment of Proof. Indeed, anyone interested in mathematics or in scientific discovery in general will want to own this book. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Proof theory Popular works | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Buy the book | $49.99 direct from Amazon Amazon page | |||||||||
| Call number | QA9.54.B46 1999 | |||||||||
| ISBN(s) | 0195117212 | |||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,631 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesPeter J. Eccles (1997). An Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning: Lectures on Numbers, Sets, and Functions. Cambridge University Press.
David S. Henley (1995). Syntax-Directed Discovery in Mathematics. Erkenntnis 43 (2):241 - 259.
James Franklin (1996). Proof in Mathematics. Quakers Hill Press.
David J. Pym (2004). Reductive Logic and Proof-Search: Proof Theory, Semantics, and Control. Oxford University Press.
Marian Mrozek & Jacek Urbaniec (1997). Evolution of Mathematical Proof. Foundations of Science 2 (1):77-85.
Andrew Aberdein (2006). Proofs and Rebuttals: Applying Stephen Toulmin's Layout of Arguments to Mathematical Proof. In Marta Bílková & Ondřej Tomala (eds.), The Logica Yearbook 2005. Filosofia.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads15 ( #78,526 of 548,969 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,438 of 548,969 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
