9780883855669
Is mathematics inevitable?; a miscellany.
Ed. by Underwood Dudley.
Mathematical Assn. of America
2008
325 pages
$56.95
Hardcover
QA276
Dudley (emeritus, DePauw U.) admits in his short preface that an
appropriate subtitle would be "Some Mathematical Stuff," as he
presents 26 disparate essays on unrelated topics. Many of the essays
have been previously published, and include topics on the purpose of
mathematics, the Strong Law of Small Numbers, the treatment of calculus
in the 1771 Encyclopaedia Britannica, an excerpt from Mathematics Made
Difficult, and a glimpse into the mind of a calculating prodigy. The
book acts both as an informal and theoretical historiography, and
includes both essay notes and a brief bibliography, though no index. It
is part of the Spectrum Series of the Mathematical Association of
America,
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