Game, Set and Math


Book Description

Twelve essays take a playful approach to mathematics, investigating the topology of a blanket, the odds of beating a superior tennis player, and how to distinguish between fact and fallacy.




The Joy of SET


Book Description

"Have you ever played the addictive card game SET? Have you ever wondered about the connections between games and mathematics? . . . The Joy of SET takes readers on a fascinating journey into this seemingly simple card game and reveals its surprisingly deep and diverse mathematical dimensions. Absolutely no mathematical background is necessary to enjoy this book - all you need is a sense of curiosity and adventure. Originally invented in 1974 by Marsha Falco and officially released in 1991, SET has gained a widespread, loyal following. SET's eighty-one cards consist of one, two, or three symbols of different shapes (diamond, oval, squiggle), shadings (solid, striped, open), and colors (green, purple, red). In order to win, players must identify 'sets' of three cards for which each characteristic is the same - or different - on all the cards. SET's strategic and unique design opens connections to a plethora of mathematical disciplines, including geometry, modular arithmetic, combinatorics, probability, linear algebra, and computer simulations. The Joy of SET looks at these areas as well as avenues for further mathematical exploration. As the authors show, the relationship between SET and mathematics runs in both directions - playing this game has generated new mathematics, and the math has led to new questions about the game itself."--Provided by publisher.




Mathematics Education for a New Era


Book Description

Stanford mathematician and NPR Math Guy Keith Devlin explains why, fun aside, video games are the ideal medium to teach middle-school math. Aimed primarily at teachers and education researchers, but also of interest to game developers who want to produce videogames for mathematics education, Mathematics Education for a New Era: Video Games as a Med




Number Jugglers


Book Description

Presents twenty games designed to teach fundamental math concepts whether played alone or with others.




Math Games with Bad Drawings


Book Description

"Best-selling author and worst-drawing artist Ben Orlin expands his oeuvre with this interactive collection of mathematical games. Each taking a minute to learn and a lifetime to master, this treasure chest of 70-plus games will delight, educate, and entertain"--




Teaching Mathematics Through Games


Book Description

Active engagement is the key to learning. You want your students doing something that stimulates them to ask questions and creates a need to know. Teaching Mathematics Through Games presents a variety of classroom-tested exercises and activities that provoke the active learning and curiosity that you hope to promote. These games run the gamut from well-known favorites like SET and Settlers of Catan to original games involving simulating structural inequality in New York or playing Battleship with functions. The book contains activities suitable for a wide variety of college mathematics courses, including general education courses, math for elementary education, probability, calculus, linear algebra, history of math, and proof-based mathematics. Some chapter activities are short term, such as a drop-in lesson for a day, and some are longer, including semester-long projects. All have been tested, refined, and include extensive implementation notes.




Math with Bad Drawings


Book Description

A hilarious reeducation in mathematics-full of joy, jokes, and stick figures-that sheds light on the countless practical and wonderful ways that math structures and shapes our world. In Math With Bad Drawings, Ben Orlin reveals to us what math actually is; its myriad uses, its strange symbols, and the wild leaps of logic and faith that define the usually impenetrable work of the mathematician. Truth and knowledge come in multiple forms: colorful drawings, encouraging jokes, and the stories and insights of an empathetic teacher who believes that math should belong to everyone. Orlin shows us how to think like a mathematician by teaching us a brand-new game of tic-tac-toe, how to understand an economic crises by rolling a pair of dice, and the mathematical headache that ensues when attempting to build a spherical Death Star. Every discussion in the book is illustrated with Orlin's trademark "bad drawings," which convey his message and insights with perfect pitch and clarity. With 24 chapters covering topics from the electoral college to human genetics to the reasons not to trust statistics, Math with Bad Drawings is a life-changing book for the math-estranged and math-enamored alike.




Game Theory and Strategy


Book Description

This book is an introduction to mathematical game theory, which might better be called the mathematical theory of conflict and cooperation. It is applicable whenever two individuals—or companies, or political parties, or nations—confront situations where the outcome for each depends on the behavior of all. What are the best strategies in such situations? If there are chances of cooperation, with whom should you cooperate, and how should you share the proceeds of cooperation? Since its creation by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in 1944, game theory has shed new light on business, politics, economics, social psychology, philosophy, and evolutionary biology. In this book, its fundamental ideas are developed with mathematics at the level of high school algebra and applied to many of these fields (see the table of contents). Ideas like “fairness” are presented via axioms that fair allocations should satisfy; thus the reader is introduced to axiomatic thinking as well as to mathematical modeling of actual situations.




Where's the Math?


Book Description

Use the powerful strategies of play and storytelling to help young children develop their "math brains." This easy-to-use resource includes fun activities, routines, and games inspired by children's books that challenge children to recognize and think more logically about the math all around them.




Martin Gardner's Mathematical Games


Book Description

The entire collection of Martin Gardner's Scientific American columns are on one searchable CD! Martin Gardner's ``Mathematical Games'' column ran in Scientific American from 1956 to 1986. In these columns, Gardner introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the delights of mathematics and of puzzles and problem solving. His column broke such stories as Rivest, Shamir and Adelman on public-key cryptography, Mandelbrot on fractals, Conway on Life, and Penrose on tilings. He enlivened classic geometry and number theory and introduced readers to new areas such as combinatorics and graph theory. The CD contains the following articles: (1) Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions; (2) The Second Scientific American Book of Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions; (3) New Mathematical Diversions; (4) The Unexpected Hanging and Other Mathematical Diversions; (5) Martin Gardner's 6th Book of Mathematical Diversions from Scientific American; (6) Mathematical Carnival; (7) Mathematical Magic Show; (8) Mathematical Circus; (9) The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix; (10) Wheels, Life, and Other Mathematical Amusements; (11) Knotted Doughnuts and Other Mathematical Entertainers; (12) Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments; (13) Penrose Tiles to Trapdoor Ciphers; (14) Fractal Music, Hypercards, and more Mathematical Recreations from Scientific American and (15) The Last Recreations: Hydras, Eggs, and Other Mathematical Mystifications. A profile and interview with Martin Gardner is included in this collection.