Mathematics A Very Short Introduction

Author : Timothy Gowers
Publisher : Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 9780192853615
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.19/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction written by Timothy Gowers and published by Oxford Paperbacks. This book was released on 2002-08-22 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this volume is to explain the differences between research-level mathematics and the maths taught at school. Most differences are philosophical and the first few chapters are about general aspects of mathematical thought.

Author : Alain Goriely
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191068888
Total Pages : 169 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Applied Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction written by Alain Goriely and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematics is playing an increasing important role in society and the sciences, enhancing our ability to use models and handle data. While pure mathematics is mostly interested in abstract structures, applied mathematics sits at the interface between this abstract world and the world in which we live. This area of mathematics takes its nourishment from society and science and, in turn, provides a unified way to understand problems arising in diverse fields. This Very Short Introduction presents a compact yet comprehensive view of the field of applied mathematics, and explores its relationships with (pure) mathematics, science, and engineering. Explaining the nature of applied mathematics, Alain Goriely discusses its early achievements in physics and engineering, and its development as a separate field after World War II. Using historical examples, current applications, and challenges, Goriely illustrates the particular role that mathematics plays in the modern sciences today and its far-reaching potential. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Jacqueline Stedall
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191633968
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The History of Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction written by Jacqueline Stedall and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-02-23 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematics is a fundamental human activity that can be practised and understood in a multitude of ways; indeed, mathematical ideas themselves are far from being fixed, but are adapted and changed by their passage across periods and cultures. In this Very Short Introduction, Jacqueline Stedall explores the rich historical and cultural diversity of mathematical endeavour from the distant past to the present day. Arranged thematically, to exemplify the varied contexts in which people have learned, used, and handed on mathematics, she also includes illustrative case studies drawn from a range of times and places, including early imperial China, the medieval Islamic world, and nineteenth-century Britain. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Mark H. A. Davis
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0198787944
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.45/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Mathematical Finance written by Mark H. A. Davis and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2019 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now a vital part of modern economies, the rapid growth of the finance industry in recent decades is largely due to the development of mathematical methods such as the theory of arbitrage. Asset valuation, credit trading, and fund management, now depend on these mathematical tools. Mark Davis explains the theories and their applications.

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191652741
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.45/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Symmetry: A Very Short Introduction written by Ian Stewart and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-05-30 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1800s mathematicians introduced a formal theory of symmetry: group theory. Now a branch of abstract algebra, this subject first arose in the theory of equations. Symmetry is an immensely important concept in mathematics and throughout the sciences, and its applications range across the entire subject. Symmetry governs the structure of crystals, innumerable types of pattern formation, how systems change their state as parameters vary; and fundamental physics is governed by symmetries in the laws of nature. It is highly visual, with applications that include animal markings, locomotion, evolutionary biology, elastic buckling, waves, the shape of the Earth, and the form of galaxies. In this Very Short Introduction, Ian Stewart demonstrates its deep implications, and shows how it plays a major role in the current search to unify relativity and quantum theory. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Peter M. Higgins
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199584052
Total Pages : 153 pages
Book Rating : 4.55/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Numbers: A Very Short Introduction written by Peter M. Higgins and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-02-24 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this Very Short Introduction Peter M. Higgins presents an overview of the number types featured in modern science and mathematics. Providing a non-technical account, he explores the evolution of the modern number system, examines the fascinating role of primes, and explains their role in contemporary cryptography.

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198755236
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.34/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Infinity written by Ian Stewart and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Infinity is an intriguing topic, with connections to religion, philosophy, metaphysics, logic, and physics as well as mathematics. Its history goes back to ancient times, with especially important contributions from Euclid, Aristotle, Eudoxus, and Archimedes. The infinitely large (infinite) isintimately related to the infinitely small (infinitesimal). Cosmologists consider sweeping questions about whether space and time are infinite. Philosophers and mathematicians ranging from Zeno to Russell have posed numerous paradoxes about infinity and infinitesimals. Many vital areas ofmathematics rest upon some version of infinity. The most obvious, and the first context in which major new techniques depended on formulating infinite processes, is calculus. But there are many others, for example Fourier analysis and fractals.In this Very Short Introduction, Ian Stewart discusses infinity in mathematics while also drawing in the various other aspects of infinity and explaining some of the major problems and insights arising from this concept. He argues that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectualexercise but that it is instead a concept with important practical everyday applications, and considers how mathematicians use infinity and infinitesimals to answer questions or supply techniques that do not appear to involve the infinite.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Richard Earl
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0198832680
Total Pages : 169 pages
Book Rating : 4.83/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Topology written by Richard Earl and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-01-11 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How is a subway map different from other maps? What makes a knot knotted? What makes the M�bius strip one-sided? These are questions of topology, the mathematical study of properties preserved by twisting or stretching objects. In the 20th century topology became as broad and fundamental as algebra and geometry, with important implications for science, especially physics. In this Very Short Introduction Richard Earl gives a sense of the more visual elements of topology (looking at surfaces) as well as covering the formal definition of continuity. Considering some of the eye-opening examples that led mathematicians to recognize a need for studying topology, he pays homage to the historical people, problems, and surprises that have propelled the growth of this field. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Robin Wilson
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0198798091
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.95/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Number Theory written by Robin Wilson and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Number theory is the branch of mathematics primarily concerned with the counting numbers, especially primes. It dates back to the ancient Greeks, but today it has great practical importance in cryptography, from credit card security to national defence. This book introduces the main areas of number theory, and some of its most interesting problems.

Author : Maciej Dunajski
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199683689
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Geometry: a Very Short Introduction written by Maciej Dunajski and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-27 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of geometry is at least 2500 years old, and it is within this field that the concept of mathematical proof - deductive reasoning from a set of axioms - first arose. To this day geometry remains a very active area of research in mathematics.This Very Short Introduction covers the areas of mathematics falling under geometry, starting with topics such as Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries, and ranging to curved spaces, projective geometry in Renaissance art, and geometry of space-time inside a black hole. Starting from the basics,Maciej Dunajski proceeds from concrete examples (of mathematical objects like Platonic solids, or theorems like the Pythagorean theorem) to general principles. Throughout, he outlines the role geometry plays in the broader context of science and art.Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.