Mathematics: The Science of Patterns - Softcover

Devlin, Keith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805073442 ISBN 13: 9780805073447

Publisher: Owl Books,U.S., 1996

Synopsis

To most people, mathematics means working with numbers. But as Keith Devlin shows in "Mathematics: The Science of Patterns," this definition has been out of date for nearly 2,500 years. Mathematicians now see their work as the study of patterns--real or imagined, visual or mental, arising from the natural world or from within the human mind.Using this basic definition as his central theme, Devlin explores the patterns of counting, measuring, reasoning, motion, shape, position, and prediction, revealing the powerful influence mathematics has over our perception of reality. Interweaving historical highlights and current developments, and using a minimum of formulas, Devlin celebrates the precision, purity, and elegance of mathematics.

About this title

About the Author

Keith Devlin is Dean of the School of Science at Saint Mary's College of California and Senior Researcher at Stanford University's Center for the Study of Language and Information. He is the author of Logic and Information, and Mathematics: The New Golden Age and Goodbye, Descartes.

Edition details

• Publisher: Owl Books,U.S.
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0805073442
• ISBN 13: 9780805073447
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224