Measurement

I like math, but sorry, I don't have the time to go through and try to solve everyone of these that I can't solve, even by working on them. These are great problems, great ideas....but I simply do have a life. I would like to be able to look up the solution if I can't solve it, which is most of the time. Unless you are a total math freak....don't buy this one. It want's you to live and breath this book. On page 85 is an interesting problems involving the area of the regular tetrahedron that is formed by the diagonals of a cube. I'm thinking that using the Pythagorean theorem about 5 times will give me the surface area, but what about the volume ? The Author asks how much of the Cube does this Tetrahedron take up ? After mulling it over and getting some idea...I would like to go and check the answer and see how close I was and maybe actually learn some math that way. It's NOT there....I had to go to Google and find it from someone willing to actually teach math. This guy is just bragging and I'm convinced he is smarter than me.....and i'm going to recommend that unless you are as smart as him, don't bother buying this book. If you have math questions, try your best, then google it. You do learn that way. A math book of problems with NO answers....Wow ! I'm truly not in that league or with the people who fill out Crossword Puzzles in Ink. I like to check my answers there, also.

5 stars are not enough. This is an amazing book. Maybe unique even. Let me explain.There are three kind of math books for school level maths.The first kind teaches math skills. Nowadays the best place for this is probably not a book but Khan academy. These skills are important tools for doing math, but they are not mathematics.The second kind of math books are collections of problems. The Art of Problem Solving series is excellent for this. Problem solving is an important part of mathematics. But it is only a part of mathematics.Where do problems come from? Which problems are interesting? How are mathematicians guided by beauty?The third kind of math books tries to answer these questions. It takes the reader on a journey of beauty and discovery."Measurement" falls into this category. Chapter 2, for example, starts with the philosophical question of "What is measurement?" and finishes with the concrete problem of why a parallelogram with equal diagonals must be a rectangle. It shows how mathematicians find problems in the first place.It is important to notice that the book does not offer answers to the problems. This is an important feature of the book. If you want problems with answers, buy a math book of the second kind. (For example the Geometry book of the Art of Problem Solving would be a good supplement.)This book is an invitation to start with fundamental questions such as what is measurement and to develop mathematics from there. It is an invitation to do living mathematics, not frozen mathematics.Thinking about it, "Measurement" is the only math book of the third kind I know of. If somebody passing by here knows another one, I would be grateful if they left a comment.

There is so much I could say about how great this book is. But let me just sum it up this way:If you hate math.... - you will enjoy this book.If you love math - you will enjoy this book.If you think you couldn't care less about math - you will enjoy this book.And if you always thought about math as this boring cumbersome subject from school - math will now stand in front of you bare, exposed, and - just maybe - incredibly interesting.

I only read the first couple chapters. This book is for when you have time/mental space to devote to study, as a student of the subject. You can do it in small amounts, recreationally, but for the average layperson like myself, this book involves intense mathematical reasoning. I mean, it welcomes everyone! With the same elegance, simplicity and conversational writing that we loved in A Mathematician's Lament. From the first page, you are captivated and wanting more. This is a must-buy for the bookshelf, to have on hand when the mood strikes.

Mr. Lockhart has previously written (A Mathematician's Lament) about the joyless methods that were used to teach most of us mathematics. Fortunately I was one who found the joy behind both the practical significance of arithmetic (yes the bank needs to know the exact balance of your account even if you don't care to figure it out) and the memorization of tables; now called math facts (yes, even musicians need to practice scales and train their fingers if they wish to make music, not just appreciate it).If you already know how joyful and remarkable mathematics can be, Mr. Lockhart writes in a way that is easy to read and offers many examples of familiar problems and solves them in a way that emphasizes the elegance and beauty of both the problem and its solution.If you wonder WHY some of us KNOW that mathematics is elegant and beautiful and wish to share that joy, give the book a whirl. You don't need to know more about mathematics than basic arithmetic. As long as you know that algebra and geometry exist; expertise is not required, you will do fine. However as easy as it is to read, be warned that sometimes the mathematics and logic will appear so clearly as if by magic and other times your brain will be challenged and you may struggle mentally as mightily as a women struggles physically (and mentally) to give birth. Whether the struggle is worth it is entirely up to you and fortunately for you, unlike the woman who cannot undo her pregnancy if she finds the struggle to give birth too difficult, you can just give up and read on to the next problem and hope it is easier. There are many, many problems to solve in the book.

It's impossible not to warm to Lockhart's enthusiasm, and after a year away from maths after finishing a degree, this book kick-started my interest in mathematics and problem solving. It gives a brilliant description of the mathematical process as well as some of the most important ideas from the subject, often in a breathtakingly simple way that even after years of study improved my understanding. I would say the sections on geometry can be understood by most people, as can the description of what calculus is, but it does get a bit more involved from that point on.

Interesting high school levle maths

It feels like author is sitting next to you, and reading the book. He will not give away solutions just like that, might also throw you into trap, knowingly, but you will only learn from the mistakes. And the feeling you get after finding something is really great. That's what motivated me to write this review, only one suggestion, it is to give some time for the first breakthrough, later that will serve as your motivation!

A mi me ha ayudado a entender la geometria y estoy estudiando un grado de Matemáticas

enthält die logischen Grundlagen - macht Spass zu lesen!