PDF A Guide to Mathematics for the Intelligent Nonmathematician Download
- Author: Edmund Callis Berkeley
- Publisher:
- ISBN:
- Category : Mathematics
- Languages : en
- Pages : 360
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Erudite and entertaining overview follows development of mathematics from ancient Greeks to present. Topics include logic and mathematics, the fundamental concept, differential calculus, probability theory, much more. Exercises and problems.
Practical, scientific, philosophical, and artistic problems have caused men to investigate mathematics. But there is one other motive which is as strong as any of these — the search for beauty. Mathematics is an art, and as such affords the pleasures which all the arts afford." In this erudite, entertaining college-level text, Morris Kline, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at New York University, provides the liberal arts student with a detailed treatment of mathematics in a cultural and historical context. The book can also act as a self-study vehicle for advanced high school students and laymen. Professor Kline begins with an overview, tracing the development of mathematics to the ancient Greeks, and following its evolution through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the present day. Subsequent chapters focus on specific subject areas, such as "Logic and Mathematics," "Number: The Fundamental Concept," "Parametric Equations and Curvilinear Motion," "The Differential Calculus," and "The Theory of Probability." Each of these sections offers a step-by-step explanation of concepts and then tests the student's understanding with exercises and problems. At the same time, these concepts are linked to pure and applied science, engineering, philosophy, the social sciences or even the arts. In one section, Professor Kline discusses non-Euclidean geometry, ranking it with evolution as one of the "two concepts which have most profoundly revolutionized our intellectual development since the nineteenth century." His lucid treatment of this difficult subject starts in the 1800s with the pioneering work of Gauss, Lobachevsky, Bolyai and Riemann, and moves forward to the theory of relativity, explaining the mathematical, scientific and philosophical aspects of this pivotal breakthrough. Mathematics for the Nonmathematician exemplifies Morris Kline's rare ability to simplify complex subjects for the nonspecialist.
As part of the new consciousness concerning the history of the American city, younger historians, economists, and geographers working with quantitative methods on urban-historical problems were brought together at a conference sponsored by the History Advisory Committee of the Mathematical Social Science Board. The papers in this volume, products of the conference, represent the pioneer stage of quantitative exploration in United States urban history. United by a common concern with the growth of cities in society and the effects of growth on the internal organization and related social order of cities, the papers deal with such topics as jobs, residences, neighborhoods, adjustment, status, accommodation, innovation, and location. The authors attempt to measure some of the attitudes and behavior of capitalists, workers, immigrants, and freedmen, and speculate on the ways in which households, firms, and assorted social groupings cope with changing physical and social environments. The essays demonstrate the productive use of quantitative research techniques, ranging from simple enumeration of data in tabular form to sophisticated types of statistical hypothesis- testing and mathematical modeling. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Outstanding thinkers of the Western world are pulled into his creation, adding luster, interest, and academic panache to this highly readable book.