The world of mathematics
by James Roy Newman · first published 1956
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Anthology of short essays, biographies and primary writings by mathematicians and others, valued for accessible variety and lively original sources; a relaxing read for people who enjoy browsing math history.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
I found this book (again) after reading an excerpt written by H. L. Gold, who describes this book: All this and much more I got from an overwhelming kind of book published by Simon & Schuster. The name of it is The World of Mathematics and it comes in four volumes, boxed, more that 2,500 stunning pages. Besides chapters on every sort of math proper, there are biographies of the greatest mathematicians, from Ah-mosé, the Egyptian scribe, to the present day - the flyleaf of the book says "To Einstein," but it goes beyond him. If time travel existed, I can think of few worthier, or more
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Point him at Project Euler. Books: (remembered fondly from my childhood & adolescence) The World of Mathematics (ed. Newman) Symbolic Logic by Suzanne Langer How to Solve it by Polya One, Two, Three, Infinity by Gamow What is Mathematics by Courant & Robbins.
on “Ask HN: Fun challenges for a 9 year-old math whiz?” ↗Get him some good interesting math books. A few suggestions: One, Two, Three, Infinity by George Gamow. The World of Mathematics [4 volume set] edited by James Newman and, perhaps in a few years, What Is Mathematics, by Courant and Robbins and Symbolic Logic, by Suzanne Langer all books that I remember from my own childhood with…
I like James R. Newman's "The World of Mathematics." It's a four volume set and you can often find it at a used bookstore for next to nothing.
on “Ask HN: good math books” ↗The World of Mathematics edited by James Newman (a four-volume anthology) may give you a feel for and an interest in exploring math further. It's a great collection ranging from mathematical curiousities and puzzles to memoirs…
on “Ask HN: Best Mathematics book for complete noobie?” ↗…understanding the field and how to appreciate its beauty and apply it to practical problems. My love and appreciation for mathematics came, in part, from reading every word of James R. Newman's four volume World of Mathematics (Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/World-Mathematics-Four--Set/dp/0486432...) published originally in 1956. It is now published by Dover in paperback and available at O($46). It's not a book to read to…
The classic paper on operations research from WWII republished in James R. Newman's World of Mathematics. Useful as a model of finding down aeroplanes as well. I remember reading it in the 1950's and finding it amazing.
on “How To Hunt a Submarine ” ↗Forty two years ago, I read an essay from 1928 by J. B. S. Haldane titled "On Being the Right Size" [1], it appeared in the wonderful four volume set The World of Mathematics. I've always remembered the main point: volume and properties related to volume increase as the cube of the scale factor for similar objects while area (surface or cross-section) increase as the square.…
on “Who’ll Freeze First? A Puzzle About Size and Staying Warm” ↗I am reminded of the chapter "How To Hunt A Submarine" by Phillip M. Morse and George E Kimball in James R. Newman's World of Mathematics. It's a classic in Operations Research and documents very effective analysis and hunting techniques from WW2.
on “How to find a submarine (2014)” ↗…getting more and more dated. It also doesn’t discuss the mathematics itself in much depth; it more connects topics and has references (plenty of them) for those who want to learn about those topics. “The World of Mathematics” by J.R. Newman isn’t a history, but more a sample of pure and, mostly, applied (“How to hunt a submarine” is the title of a chapter on operations research) mathematics. I think it is worth mentioning,…
on “A Map of Mathematics” ↗The World of Mathematics by James R. Newman is a classic, filled with great biographies and short essays about various parts of math.
on “Ask HN: What kind of math do you study in your free time?” ↗Also The World of Mathematics (1956) by James R. Newman.
on “History of Maths for Beginners” ↗World of Mathematics - An amazing compendium of accessible content straight from the masters - Poincare, Jonathan Swift, Neumann, Bishop Berkeley, Cayley etc https://www.amazon.com/World-Mathematics-James-Newman-Hardco...…
on “Ask HN: Older textbooks/papers you consider classics still worth studying today?” ↗Old mathematics books are also interesting. Really cool to see how notation has evolved over centuries of mathematical inquiry. Right now I'm reading "The World of Mathematics, Volume One" and it is quite a relaxing read when starting the day with a good coffee.
on “C.S. Lewis on the Reading of Old Books” ↗Probably not. It's interesting to plow through Newman's four volume "The World of Mathematics" as a grad student, but inflicting mathematical history on ordinary school kids is cruel. They don't need that much math. Unless you're a mathematician, math should be viewed as a tool, like a lathe.…
on “Do Teachers Need to Include the History of Mathematics in Their Teaching? (2003)” ↗…What if. A fun light read about whimsical scenarios. Sigmund - Exact thinking in demented times. About the vienna circle, the philosophical group associated with logical positivism. Newman [ed] - The world of mathematics vol 1. A varied Collection of mathematical writings, both contemporary and historical. Richard J Evans - The Coming of the Third Reich. Evans has recently written a three volume treatment of the third…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗