The Magic of Math: Solving for x and Figuring Out Why, by Arthur Benjamin
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The Magic of Math: Solving for x and Figuring Out Why, by Arthur Benjamin
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A New York Times bestsellerThe Magic of Math is the math book you wish you had in school. Using a delightful assortment of examples—from ice cream scoops and poker hands to measuring mountains and making magic squares—this book empowers you to see the beauty, simplicity, and truly magical properties behind those formulas and equations that once left your head spinning. You’ll learn the key ideas of classic areas of mathematics like arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus, but you’ll also have fun fooling around with Fibonacci numbers, investigating infinity, and marveling over mathematical magic tricks that will make you look like a math genius!A mathematician who is known throughout the world as the “mathemagician,” Arthur Benjamin mixes mathematics and magic to make the subject fun, attractive, and easy to understand. In The Magic of Math, Benjamin does more than just teach skills: with a tip of his magic hat, he takes you on as his apprentice to teach you how to appreciate math the way he does. He motivates you to learn something new about how to solve for x, because there is real pleasure to be found in the solution to a challenging problem or in using numbers to do something useful. But what he really wants you to do is be able to figure out why, for that’s where you’ll find the real beauty, power, and magic of math.If you are already someone who likes math, this book will dazzle and amuse you. If you never particularly liked or understood math, Benjamin will enlighten you and—with a wave of his magic wand—turn you into a math lover.
The Magic of Math: Solving for x and Figuring Out Why, by Arthur Benjamin- Amazon Sales Rank: #9572 in Books
- Published on: 2015-09-08
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.25" h x 1.13" w x 6.13" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 336 pages
Review PRAISE FOR THE MAGIC OF MATHA New York Times bestseller“Whether it’s been decades since you last took algebra or you’re currently dealing with the aches of solving for x, The Magic of Math is a good read. Even though it includes, gasp, equations.”—Steve Mirsky, Scientific American“Arthur Benjamin’s The Magic of Math is a thoroughly engaging book for readers of many ages and mathematical backgrounds…. This is an absolute gem of a book. It contains something of interest for everyone, and the author’s lively style and obvious affection for the subject makes this a book to keep, reread, and share.”—Mathematical Reviews“[The Magic of Math] would be perfect reading for the gifted and talented as a supplement to other course work. Of course, self-motivated individuals interested in mathematics will enjoy the book too. It would be a good resource for mathematics teachers seeking some additional spice for their presentations. The book is well written; graphics are particularly clear; physical format is excellent.”—CHOICE“As soon as the reader has absorbed one ‘trick’, Benjamin is already moving on to the next one – and each is more dazzling than the last.”—Physics World“This excellent book is filled with mathematical magic.... Benjamin’s writing is very readable and entertaining: his numbers dance. ”—Manhattan Book Review“The book delivers on all the promise of both aspects of Benjamin’s talent: teacher and performer. Like [Martin] Gardner, Benjamin telegraphs a joy in surprising mathematical stunts.... I recommend this book for the math enthusiast embarking on his or her university career, the high school adept in your life intrigued by math yet bored in class, or someone remembering fondly math as their favorite subject yet lacking time to enroll in courses now.”—Tom Schulte, MAA Reviews“[A] fascinating book…. The writing style is inviting, and the book is filled with fun examples. Readers can easily jump around and choose from the wide variety of topics or read straight through.”—Mathematics Teacher“The book is a fast-paced tour of 12 broad topics ranging from simple arithmetic to the subtleties of infinite sums…. Benjamin approaches all of these subjects with the goal of emphasizing the wonder and magic inherent in them, while still giving the reader a sense of the mathematics hiding of the magicians sleeve…. The book offers a dizzying array of mathematical delights. But here, once the mathemagician has finished his sleight-of-hand, we have the luxury of peeking behind the curtain to understand how all those tricks are done.”—Math Horizons“[Benjamin] use[s] some interesting trickery to draw the reader into the conversation about the importance of math in everyday life.... The Magic of Math is a good model for instructional material. It delivers material on a complex nature in a manner that most people will be able to understand, and you get some magic tricks and humor thrown in for the bargain. You will enjoy this book, you can count on that.”—Roanoke Times“[A] well-written, entertaining volume.... This solid reference for teachers seeking interesting classroom examples (and jokes) could easily lure a student into further studies in mathematics.”—Library Journal“An enthusiastic celebration of the beauty of mathematics.... Benjamin delivers a primer generously filled with insights and intuitions that make math approachable, interesting, and, yes, beautiful.”—Kirkus Reviews“[A] positively joyful exploration of mathematics. [Benjamin’s] approach is simple and refreshingly practical.... Whether figuring out compound interest, using trigonometry to determine the height of a tree, or employing calculus to work out a shortest possible walking route, each topic is presented in the clearest, simplest way possible.... [I]ts energy and enthusiasm should charm even the most math-phobic readers.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review“Arthur Benjamin shows you that numbers do more than just keep track of things and solve problems. He joyfully shows you how to make nature’s numbers dance. Let his book be your partner for a lifetime of learning.”—Bill Nye, Science Educator and CEO, The Planetary Society“Prepare to be dazzled and delighted. In The Magic of Math, Art Benjamin offers us a fun, fast-paced magic show of the greatest treasures of pre-college math, from poker hands to Pascal’s triangle, all revealed with the flair of a showman and the clarity of a master teacher. The Magic of Math will leave you smiling, awestruck, and begging for an encore.” —Steven Strogatz, Professor of Mathematics, Cornell University and author of The Joy of x“The Magic of Math teaches you cool mathematical facts, theorems, puzzles, and problems from arithmetic to calculus. The book provides problems that are accessible to everyone. Teachers will find many ideas to motivate students and to provide an extra challenge for those who are already into math.”—Gail Burrill, President Emeritus, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and Professor of Mathematics Education, Michigan State University“Conventional magic works because you can’t understand how it works. The magic of mathematics comes from that exciting “aha” moment when you suddenly get what’s going on. Art Benjamin breaks all the rules of the Magic Circle in this book and provides readers with an all-access backstage pass to the magical world of mathematics.” —Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford and author of The Number Mysteries“There's a playful joy to be found in this book, for readers at any level. Most magicians don't reveal their secrets because doing so would spoil the fun, but in The Magic of Math, Art Benjamin shows how uncovering the mystery behind beautiful mathematical truths makes math even more marvelous to behold.”—Francis Su, President, Mathematical Association of America“Art Benjamin is a mathematics professor, a magician, a public intellectual, an entertainer, a lightning calculator, and one of the finest men I’ve ever known. With The Magic of Math, he has emerged as the world’s foremost math teacher and a national treasure. Parents should get this book for their children…and a second copy for themselves. It’s that good. And important. Read it.”—Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of The Moral Arc and The Science of Good and Evil“They say magicians should never reveal their secrets. Happily, Art Benjamin has ignored this silly adage—for in this small volume, Benjamin reveals to his audience the secrets of numbers and other mathematical illusions that have intrigued mathematicians for millennia.”—Edward B. Burger, President, Southwestern University and author of Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz“This book will be magical for my students, as it would have been for me throughout my school days. They'll be able to revisit the book frequently as they learn more math, finding deeper appreciation and discovering new areas to explore with each visit.”—Richard Rusczyk, co-author of The Art of Problem Solving“In The Magic of Math, Art Benjamin has pulled off a seemingly impossible trick. He has made higher mathematics appear so natural and engaging that you will wonder why you were ever bored and confused in math class. There are many books that attempt to popularize mathematics. This is one of the best. On virtually every page I found myself learning new things, or looking at familiar topics in novel ways.”—Jason Rosenhouse, Professor of Mathematics, James Madison University and author of The Monty Hall Problem"In The Magic of Math, mathemagician Art Benjamin gives us an entertaining and enlightening tour of a wide swath of fundamental mathematical ideas, presented in a way that is accessible to a broad audience. A particularly appealing feature of the book is the frequent use of friendly, down-to-earth explanations of the concepts and connections between them.”—Ronald Graham, President Emeritus of the American Mathematical Society and co-author of Magical Mathematics“Mathematics is full of surprisingly beautiful patterns, which Art Benjamin's witty personality brings to life in The Magic of Math. You will not only discover many wonderful ideas, but you will also find some fun mathematical magic tricks that you will want to try out on your friends and family. Be prepared to learn that math is more entertaining than you may have thought.”—George W. Hart, Mathematical Sculptor, Research Professor at Stony Brook University and co-founder of the Museum of Mathematics“The Magic of Math offers an expansive, unforgettable journey through mathematics where numbers dance and mathematical secrets are revealed. Just open the book and start reading; you'll be swept over by the magic of Benjamin's writing. Luckily, there is no magician's code to these secrets as you'll undoubtedly want to share and perform them with family and friends.”—Tim Chartier, Professor of Mathematics at Davidson College and the author of Math Bytes“This book is a whirlwind tour of mathematics from arithmetic and algebra all the way to calculus and infinity, and especially the number 9. Art Benjamin's enthusiastic and engaging writing style makes The Magic of Math a great addition to any math enthusiast’s bag of tricks.”—Laura Taalman, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, James Madison University“The Magic of Math is a delightful stroll through a garden filled with fascinating examples. Anyone with any interest in magic, puzzles, or math will have many hours of enjoyment in reading this book.”—Maria M. Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College“Art Benjamin has created an instant mathematical classic, by combining Isaac Asimov's clarity with Martin Gardner's taste and adding his own sense of fun and adventure. I wish he wrote this book when I was a kid.”—Paul A. Zeitz, Professor and Chair, Mathematics, University of San Francisco and author of The Art and Craft of Problem Solving
About the Author Arthur Benjamin holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and is a professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, where he has taught since 1989. He is a noted “mathemagician,” known for being able to perform complicated computations in his head. He is the author, most recently, of The Secrets of Mental Math, and has appeared on The Today Show and The Colbert Report. Benjamin has been profiled in such publications as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Scientific American, Discover, and Wired.
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Most helpful customer reviews
62 of 63 people found the following review helpful. A compelling and engaging journey appropriate for a wide variety of readers By Sam The Magic of Math is a fantastic book, as one would expect from Arthur Benjamin. Benjamin's enthusiasm shines throughout the book, mathematical ideas are beautifully explained, and each chapter is surprisingly hard to put down! Moreover, the book is appropriate for many different audiences, including:-- Anyone who wants a better understanding of what it means to do mathematics, or wants to see the beauty and creativity inherent in mathematics-- Middle and High School students who want to see some of the mathematics ``behind the scenes'' of what they're learning in school-- Burgeoning mathematicians who want to see mathematics beyond the scope of the grade school curriculum-- Tutors and teachers who want an easy source of fun material to engage their students-- Anyone who wants to really understand *why* the math they learned in grade school is true.People familiar with this genre of mathematics outreach books (e.g., Here's Looking at Euclid, The Joy of X, Love and Math, etc.) often find that many of the books are very similar, and that their contents tend to overlap greatly. While readers will certainly find common topics like the Pythagorean Theorem or the Fibonacci Numbers in Benjamin's book, I think they'll also encounter quite a substantial amount of new material in this book. In particular, Benjamin goes into more mathematical depth with much of the material he discusses. Further, a quick skim of the contents reveals a lot of beautiful mathematics that is not commonly in outreach books, including an especially thorough discussion of exciting topics in a field of mathematics known as combinatorics. If you're interested in understanding the kind of thinking a mathematician does, then you'll find these chapters especially novel!At the same time, Benjamin's book is very readable. He clearly motivates the mathematical ideas he shares, and then proceeds to explain them in concrete and understandable ways. Of course, as with any good book, this book will make you think! However, you'll have Arthur Benjamin supporting you along the way, and you'll find yourself learning quite a bit of mathematics with that support. Benjamin is also sure to include a few optional and sometimes particularly robust mathematical ideas, but he clearly marks these as ``asides,'' explicitly indicating to readers that grappling with these ideas is not necessary for understanding the material. Instead, these aside sections serve to make the book more interesting to people who might reread sections of the book, or who already have an especially strong background in mathematics.The Bottom Line: This is a great book that can (and should!) be read by people from a huge variety of backgrounds. Beautiful mathematical ideas lie waiting to be discovered, and readers will encounter both engaging prose and crystal-clear mathematical exposition.Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book by the author, though there was neither an expectation nor a suggestion that I write a review
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful. A Variety of Fun Math Topics By George Poirier For me, reading this pleasant math book was like stepping back in time to my old high school years – for much of the book, anyway. Separate chapters are devoted to the basics of algebra, geometry, trigonometry and mathematical proofs. Other chapters concentrate on differential calculus, combinatorics, the Fibonacci series, pi, exponents, imaginary numbers and infinity. Also, there are a few chapters on what I refer to as number gymnastics, e.g., how to do mental math, and some chapters flirt with number theory, e.g., intriguing properties of Pascal’s triangle, of the Fibonacci numbers, etc.The author’s clear, lively, very friendly and often witty style makes this book a pleasure to read, despite the material on number theory which is not my favorite branch of mathematics. The author’s gentle approach is such that this book could be a valuable reference for high school students. On the other hand, older readers can enjoy it as a review of material that may have been forgotten but was a lot of fun when it was studied; it certainly was for me.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful. For The Math Fan By Paul Moskowitz This is a book for those who are captivated by the mysteries of mathematics. The writing and explanations are clear and easily readable. The examples are fascinating.I was especially pleased to read about Gauss's discovery as a child of an easy way to find the sum of a series of the integers. The author tells us how to find the day of the week for any date. The chapter on Pi was excellent. I have found that there are websites that can place any number within Pi's series of digits. I have located some of my US patent numbers, each seven digits long, within Pi.The only small fault that I found in the book was the assertion that the curve created by a tossed object or a water fountain is a parabola. Actually, the curve is an ellipse or a section of an ellipse. Any body in free fall above the Earth, whether it is a satellite in orbit or a rock thrown from the surface follows a course determined by Newton's inverse square law of gravitational attraction. In 1684, when Halley asked Newton what the shape of the orbits of the planets around the sun would be if the attraction obeyed an inverse square law such as in Newton's law, Newton replied immediately that the shape was an ellipse.Aside from the water fountain, I found this book to be totally enjoyable. I have to add that I was given a pre-publication copy at the New York BookExpo at the end of May. It was worth the trip to New York City.
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