Mathematics Going Forward


Book Description

This volume is an original collection of articles by 44 leading mathematicians on the theme of the future of the discipline. The contributions range from musings on the future of specific fields, to analyses of the history of the discipline, to discussions of open problems and conjectures, including first solutions of unresolved problems. Interestingly, the topics do not cover all of mathematics, but only those deemed most worthy to reflect on for future generations. These topics encompass the most active parts of pure and applied mathematics, including algebraic geometry, probability, logic, optimization, finance, topology, partial differential equations, category theory, number theory, differential geometry, dynamical systems, artificial intelligence, theory of groups, mathematical physics and statistics.




How Not to Be Wrong


Book Description

A brilliant tour of mathematical thought and a guide to becoming a better thinker, How Not to Be Wrong shows that math is not just a long list of rules to be learned and carried out by rote. Math touches everything we do; It's what makes the world make sense. Using the mathematician's methods and hard-won insights-minus the jargon-professor and popular columnist Jordan Ellenberg guides general readers through his ideas with rigor and lively irreverence, infusing everything from election results to baseball to the existence of God and the psychology of slime molds with a heightened sense of clarity and wonder. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives. How Not to Be Wrong shows us how--Publisher's description.




Mathematics for Human Flourishing


Book Description

"The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them."--Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine" This is perhaps the most important mathematics book of our time. Francis Su shows mathematics is an experience of the mind and, most important, of the heart."--James Tanton, Global Math Project For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity's most beautiful ideas. In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award-winning mathematician and educator weaves parables, puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires--such as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love--and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how mathematics is intimately tied to being human. Some lessons emerge from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother's, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher's letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can--and must--be open to all.




How I Wish I'd Taught Maths


Book Description

Brought to an American audience for the first time, How I Wish I'd Taught Maths is the story of an experienced and successful math teacher's journey into the world of research, and how it has entirely transformed his classroom.




Lost in Math


Book Description

In this "provocative" book (New York Times), a contrarian physicist argues that her field's modern obsession with beauty has given us wonderful math but bad science. Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria. Worse, these "too good to not be true" theories are actually untestable and they have left the field in a cul-de-sac. To escape, physicists must rethink their methods. Only by embracing reality as it is can science discover the truth.




Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12


Book Description

A thinking student is an engaged student Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.




3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development, 2nd Edition


Book Description

This engaging book presents the essential mathematics needed to describe, simulate, and render a 3D world. Reflecting both academic and in-the-trenches practical experience, the authors teach you how to describe objects and their positions, orientations, and trajectories in 3D using mathematics. The text provides an introduction to mathematics for game designers, including the fundamentals of coordinate spaces, vectors, and matrices. It also covers orientation in three dimensions, calculus and dynamics, graphics, and parametric curves.




Mathematics for Machine Learning


Book Description

The fundamental mathematical tools needed to understand machine learning include linear algebra, analytic geometry, matrix decompositions, vector calculus, optimization, probability and statistics. These topics are traditionally taught in disparate courses, making it hard for data science or computer science students, or professionals, to efficiently learn the mathematics. This self-contained textbook bridges the gap between mathematical and machine learning texts, introducing the mathematical concepts with a minimum of prerequisites. It uses these concepts to derive four central machine learning methods: linear regression, principal component analysis, Gaussian mixture models and support vector machines. For students and others with a mathematical background, these derivations provide a starting point to machine learning texts. For those learning the mathematics for the first time, the methods help build intuition and practical experience with applying mathematical concepts. Every chapter includes worked examples and exercises to test understanding. Programming tutorials are offered on the book's web site.




Theories of Mathematics Education


Book Description

Advances in Mathematics Education is a new and innovative book series published by Springer that builds on the success and the rich history of ZDM—The Inter- tional Journal on Mathematics Education (formerly known as Zentralblatt für - daktik der Mathematik). One characteristic of ZDM since its inception in 1969 has been the publication of themed issues that aim to bring the state-of-the-art on c- tral sub-domains within mathematics education. The published issues include a rich variety of topics and contributions that continue to be of relevance today. The newly established monograph series aims to integrate, synthesize and extend papers from previously published themed issues of importance today, by orienting these issues towards the future state of the art. The main idea is to move the ?eld forward with a book series that looks to the future by building on the past by carefully choosing viable ideas that can fruitfully mutate and inspire the next generations. Taking ins- ration from Henri Poincaré (1854–1912), who said “To create consists precisely in not making useless combinations and in making those which are useful and which are only a small minority.




Living Proof


Book Description

Wow! This is a powerful book that addresses a long-standing elephant in the mathematics room. Many people learning math ask ``Why is math so hard for me while everyone else understands it?'' and ``Am I good enough to succeed in math?'' In answering these questions the book shares personal stories from many now-accomplished mathematicians affirming that ``You are not alone; math is hard for everyone'' and ``Yes; you are good enough.'' Along the way the book addresses other issues such as biases and prejudices that mathematicians encounter, and it provides inspiration and emotional support for mathematicians ranging from the experienced professor to the struggling mathematics student. --Michael Dorff, MAA President This book is a remarkable collection of personal reflections on what it means to be, and to become, a mathematician. Each story reveals a unique and refreshing understanding of the barriers erected by our cultural focus on ``math is hard.'' Indeed, mathematics is hard, and so are many other things--as Stephen Kennedy points out in his cogent introduction. This collection of essays offers inspiration to students of mathematics and to mathematicians at every career stage. --Jill Pipher, AMS President This book is published in cooperation with the Mathematical Association of America.