Author: Jean-Pierre Changeux
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691004051
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
Do numbers and the other objects of mathematics enjoy a timeless existence independent of human minds, or are they the products of cerebral invention? Do we discover them, as Plato supposed and many others have believed since, or do we construct them? Does mathematics constitute a universal language that in principle would permit human beings to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations elsewhere in the universe, or is it merely an earthly language that owes its accidental existence to the peculiar evolution of neuronal networks in our brains? Does the physical world actually obey mathematical laws, or does it seem to conform to them simply because physicists have increasingly been able to make mathematical sense of it? Jean-Pierre Changeux, an internationally renowned neurobiologist, and Alain Connes, one of the most eminent living mathematicians, find themselves deeply divided by these questions. The problematic status of mathematical objects leads Changeux and Connes to the organization and function of the brain, the ways in which its embryonic and post-natal development influences the unfolding of mathematical reasoning and other kinds of thinking, and whether human intelligence can be simulated, modeled,--or actually reproduced-- by mechanical means. The two men go on to pose ethical questions, inquiring into the natural foundations of morality and the possibility that it may have a neural basis underlying its social manifestations. This vivid record of profound disagreement and, at the same time, sincere search for mutual understanding, follows in the tradition of Poincaré, Hadamard, and von Neumann in probing the limits of human experience and intellectual possibility. Why order should exist in the world at all, and why it should be comprehensible to human beings, is the question that lies at the heart of these remarkable dialogues.
Author: John Urschel
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735224889
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
A New York Times bestseller John Urschel, mathematician and former offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, tells the story of a life balanced between two passions For John Urschel, what began as an insatiable appetite for puzzles as a child developed into mastery of the elegant systems and rules of mathematics. By the time he was thirteen, Urschel was auditing a college-level calculus course. But when he joined his high school football team, a new interest began to eclipse the thrill he felt in the classroom. Football challenged Urschel in an entirely different way, and he became addicted to the physical contact of the sport. After he accepted a scholarship to play at Penn State, his love of math was rekindled. As a Nittany Lion, he refused to sacrifice one passion for the other. Against the odds, Urschel found a way to manage his double life as a scholar and an athlete. While he was an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, he simultaneously pursued his PhD in mathematics at MIT. Weaving together two separate narratives, Urschel relives for us the most pivotal moments of his bifurcated life. He explains why, after Penn State was sanctioned for the acts of former coach Jerry Sandusky, he declined offers from prestigious universities and refused to abandon his team. He describes his parents’ different influences and their profound effect on him, and he opens up about the correlation between football and CTE and the risks he took for the game he loves. Equally at home discussing Georg Cantor’s work on infinities and Bill Belichick’s playbook, Urschel reveals how each challenge—whether on the field or in the classroom—has brought him closer to understanding the two different halves of his own life, and how reason and emotion, the mind and the body, are always working together. “So often, people want to divide the world into two,” he observes. “Matter and energy. Wave and particle. Athlete and mathematician. Why can’t something (or someone) be both?”
Author: John Casti
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
In Five Golden Rules, John L. Casti serves as curator to a brilliant collection of 20th-century mathematical theories, leading us on a fascinating journey of discovery and insight. Probing the frontiers of modern mathematics, Casti examines the origins of some of the most important findings of this century. This is a tale of mystery and logic, elegance and reason; it is the story of five monumental mathematical breakthroughs and how they shape our lives. All those intrigued by the mathematical process, nonacademics and professionals alike, will find this an enlightening, eye-opening, and entertaining work. High school algebra or geometry - and enthusiasm - are the only prerequisites. From the theorem that provided the impetus for modern computers to the calculations that sent the first men to the Moon, these breakthroughs have transformed our lives. Casti illustrates each theorem with a dazzling array of real-world problems it has helped solve - how to calculate the shape of space, optimize investment returns, even chart the course of the development of organisms. Along the way, we meet the leading thinkers of the day: John von Neumann, L. E. J. Brouwer, Marston Morse, and Alan Turing, among others. And we come to understand the combination of circumstances that led each to such revolutionary discoveries as the Minimax Theorem, which spawned the exciting field of game theory, and the Simplex Method, which underpins the powerful tools of optimization theory.
Author: Luis Manuel Braga de Costa Campos
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420071157
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 888
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Book Description
Combining mathematical theory, physical principles, and engineering problems, Generalized Calculus with Applications to Matter and Forces examines generalized functions, including the Heaviside unit jump and the Dirac unit impulse and its derivatives of all orders, in one and several dimensions. The text introduces the two main approaches to generalized functions: (1) as a nonuniform limit of a family of ordinary functions, and (2) as a functional over a set of test functions from which properties are inherited. The second approach is developed more extensively to encompass multidimensional generalized functions whose arguments are ordinary functions of several variables. As part of a series of books for engineers and scientists exploring advanced mathematics, Generalized Calculus with Applications to Matter and Forces presents generalized functions from an applied point of view, tackling problem classes such as: Gauss and Stokes’ theorems in the differential geometry, tensor calculus, and theory of potential fields Self-adjoint and non-self-adjoint problems for linear differential equations and nonlinear problems with large deformations Multipolar expansions and Green’s functions for elastic strings and bars, potential and rotational flow, electro- and magnetostatics, and more This third volume in the series Mathematics and Physics for Science and Technology is designed to complete the theory of functions and its application to potential fields, relating generalized functions to broader follow-on topics like differential equations. Featuring step-by-step examples with interpretations of results and discussions of assumptions and their consequences, Generalized Calculus with Applications to Matter and Forces enables readers to construct mathematical–physical models suited to new observations or novel engineering devices.
Author: Dmitriĭ Vladimirovich Nikulin
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 328
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Book Description
"This book considers conditions of applicability of mathematics to the study of natural phenomena. The possibility of such an application is one of the fundamental assumptions underlying the enormous theoretical and practical success of modern science. Addressing problems of matter, substance, infinity, number, structure of cognitive faculties, imagination, and of construction of mathematical object, Dmitri Nikulin examines mathematical (geometrical) objects in their relation to geometrical or intelligible matter and to imagination. The author explores questions in the history of philosophy and science, particularly in late antiquity and early modernity. The focus is on key thinkers Plotinus and Descartes (with the occasional appearance of Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Proclus, Newton and others), in whom the fundamental presuppositions of ripe antiquity and of early modernity find their definite expression."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309131987
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 53
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Book Description
Results from national and international assessments indicate that school children in the United States are not learning mathematics well enough. Many students cannot correctly apply computational algorithms to solve problems. Their understanding and use of decimals and fractions are especially weak. Indeed, helping all children succeed in mathematics is an imperative national goal. However, for our youth to succeed, we need to change how we're teaching this discipline. Helping Children Learn Mathematics provides comprehensive and reliable information that will guide efforts to improve school mathematics from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The authors explain the five strands of mathematical proficiency and discuss the major changes that need to be made in mathematics instruction, instructional materials, assessments, teacher education, and the broader educational system and answers some of the frequently asked questions when it comes to mathematics instruction. The book concludes by providing recommended actions for parents and caregivers, teachers, administrators, and policy makers, stressing the importance that everyone work together to ensure a mathematically literate society.
Author: Kit Yates
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982111887
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
"We are all doing math all the time, from the way we communicate with each other to the way we travel, from how we work to how we relax. Many of us are aware of this. But few of us really appreciate the full power of math - the extent to which its influence is not only in every office and every home, but also in every courtroom and hospital ward. In this eye-opening and extraordinary book, Kit Yates explores the true stories of life-changing events in which the application - or misapplication - of mathematics has played a critical role: patients crippled by faulty genes and entrepreneurs bankrupted by faulty algorithms; innocent victims of miscarriages of justice and the unwitting victims of software glitches. We follow stories of investors who have lost fortunes and parents who have lost children, all because of mathematical misunderstandings. Along the way, Yates arms us with simple mathematical rules and tools that can help us make better decisions in our increasingly quantitative society"--
Author: Hans Rademacher
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 9780486262420
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
Requiring only a basic background in plane geometry and elementary algebra, this classic poses 28 problems that introduce the fundamental ideas that make mathematics truly exciting. "Excellent . . . a thoroughly enjoyable sampler of fascinating mathematical problems and their solutions"—Science Magazine.
Author: Cathy Humphreys
Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers
ISBN: 1571109986
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 213
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Book Description
Making Number Talks Matter is about the myriad decisions facing teachers as they make this fifteen-minute daily routine a vibrant and vital part of their mathematics instruction. Throughout the book, Cathy Humphreys and Ruth Parker offer practical ideas for using Number Talks to help students learn to reason numerically and build a solid foundation for the study of mathematics. This book will be an invaluable resource whether you are already using Number Talks or not; whether you are an elementary, middle school, high school, or college teacher; or even if you are a parent wanting to support your child with mathematics. Using insight gained from many years of doing Number Talks with students of all ages, Cathy and Ruth address questions to ask during Number Talks, teacher moves that turn the thinking over to students, the mathematics behind the various strategies, and ways to overcome bumps in the road. If you've been looking for ways to transform your mathematics classroom--to bring sense-making and divergent thinking to the foreground, to bring the Standards for Mathematical Practice to life, and to bring joy back into your instruction--this book is for you.
Author: Jordan Ellenberg
Publisher: Penguin Press
ISBN: 1594205221
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 480
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Book Description
A brilliant tour of mathematical thought and a guide to becoming a better thinker, How Not to Be Wrong shows that math is not just a long list of rules to be learned and carried out by rote. Math touches everything we do; It's what makes the world make sense. Using the mathematician's methods and hard-won insights-minus the jargon-professor and popular columnist Jordan Ellenberg guides general readers through his ideas with rigor and lively irreverence, infusing everything from election results to baseball to the existence of God and the psychology of slime molds with a heightened sense of clarity and wonder. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives. How Not to Be Wrong shows us how--Publisher's description.
