Título: Prelude to Mathematics
Autor: W.W. Sawyer
Sinopse: "No mathematician can be a complete mathematician unless he is also something of a poet." ? K. Weierstrass In this lively and stimulating account, noted mathematician and educator W. W. Sawyer (Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto) defines mathematics as "the classification and study of all possible patterns." It is a broad definition, but one that seems appropriate to the great scope and depth of the topic. Indeed, mathematics seems to have few boundaries, either in applications to practical matters or in its mind-stretching excursions into realms of pure abstraction. Gearing his approach to the layman whose grasp of things mathematical may be a bit precarious, Professor Sawyer offers a lucid, accessible introduction to the mathematician's cast of mind. Five well-written preliminary chapters explore the beauty, power and mysticism of mathematics; the role of math as an adjunct in utilitarian matters; and the concepts of pattern, generalization and unification as both tools and goals of mathematical thought. After developing this conceptual groundwork, the author goes on to treat of more advanced topics: non-Euclidean geometry, matrices, projective geometry, determinants, transformations and group theory. The emphasis here is not on mathematics with great practical utility, but on those branches which are exciting in themselves ? mathematics which offers the strange, the novel, the apparently impossible ? for example, an arithmetic in which no number is larger than four. Mathematicians will appreciate the author's grasp of a wide range of important mathematical topics, and his ability to illuminate the complex issues involved; laymen, especially those with a minimal math background, will appreciate the accessibility of much of the book, which affords not only a portrait of mathematics as a matchless tool for probing the nature of the universe, but a revealing glimpse of that mysterious entity called "the mathematical mind." Professor Sawyer has further enhanced this new Dover edition with updated material on group theory, appearing here in English for the first time.
Contexto da obra
Quando a classificação é mais ampla, o contexto do livro costuma depender ainda mais de autoria, tema e edição. “Prelude to Mathematics”, de W.W. Sawyer, publicado pela editora Dover Publications Inc., em 1983 e com 224 páginas, integra a categoria Livros Variados. Por isso, autoria, edição e tema acabam tendo ainda mais peso na forma de apresentar o livro.
Editora: Dover Publications Inc.
Páginas: 224
Ano: 1983
Edição: Revised
Linguagem: pt_BR
ISBN: 9780486244013
ISBN13: 9780486244013
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Dover Publications Inc. apresentam uma variedade de temas que transitam entre ciências exatas, artes visuais e literatura clássica. A experiência de leitura frequentemente envolve um mergulho detalhado em assuntos específicos, como a história da química, técnicas artísticas tradicionais ou coleções de contos e ensaios. O tom das obras varia do didático e técnico ao narrativo e ilustrativo, com muitos volumes oferecendo explicações claras, ilustrações precisas e contextualizações históricas. O catálogo sugere uma preferência por textos que combinam rigor informativo com acessibilidade, contemplando desde guias práticos para desenhistas até compilações literárias que exploram aspectos culturais e históricos.
