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Rating: 
Summary: A mathematical carnival at its best
Review: An amazing amalgam of mathematical treats! Each chapter is super short. Fun for readers of wide abilities. Here are some of my favorite topics: Ackermann's function, Maria Agnesi, Alien snow, Amicable numbers, Apocalyptic numbers, Audioactive decay, Bible code, Catalan numbers, Cellular automata, Doughnut loops, Paul Erdos, Fractals, Sophie Germain, Goldbach Conjecture, Hexamorphic numbers, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Palindromes, Roger Penrose, Poincare Conjecture, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Scandals, Self-similarity, Transcendentals, ... and more.
Rating:
Summary: A mathematical carnival at its best
Review: An amazing amalgam of mathematical treats! Each chapter is super short. Fun for readers of wide abilities. Here are some of my favorite topics: Ackermann's function, Maria Agnesi, Alien snow, Amicable numbers, Apocalyptic numbers, Audioactive decay, Bible code, Catalan numbers, Cellular automata, Doughnut loops, Paul Erdos, Fractals, Sophie Germain, Goldbach Conjecture, Hexamorphic numbers, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Palindromes, Roger Penrose, Poincare Conjecture, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Scandals, Self-similarity, Transcendentals, ... and more.
Rating: 
Summary: More unusual mathematics from a master
Review: Narrated by the outstanding and eccentric mathematician Dr. Francis Google, this book is a collection of unusual mathematics problems, from those involving very large numbers to those defined by applying operations. For example, the Leviathan number (10^666)! is used to demonstrate that it is not necessary to compute a number to learn some of the properties that it has. Sets of numbers such as apocalyptic numbers, those that involve 666, the number of the beast, appear several times. One of my favorites are the Schizophrenic numbers, defined by the formula f(n) = 10 * f(n-1)+n, f(0) = 0, which is a set of integers demonstrating a simple pattern. However, the action starts when the square roots of the numbers are taken. These roots exhibit an unusual, repeated pattern in their digits.
Some incidents of mathematical history that are interesting trivia are also used. The number 365, 365, 365, 365, 365, 365 is supposedly the largest number that was ever squared in the head of a human. Other segments were based on surveys, where people answered questions such as, "Which would have had the greatest impact on the world as we know it today: 'If Albert Einstein had lived another twenty years with a clear mind?', 'If mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan had lived another twenty years with a clear mind?", If Steven Hawking was not afflicted with Lou Gehrig's disease?'." A ranking of the top eight female mathematicians of all time, a listing of the five greatest scandals in mathematics history, the ten most important unsolved mathematical problems, the ten most influential mathematicians of all time, the ten most influential mathematicians alive today and the ten most difficult areas of mathematics to understand provide additional intellectual fodder.
Every time I read a Pickover book, the number of ideas used as the seeds to generate the text astounds me. He always seems able to come up with new twists on old problems and sometimes new problems that set your brain moving in circular motions as you try to comprehend the consequences of the statements and attempt to follow the logical consequences of the transformations. While some of the best books keep you reading from page to page without stopping, others cause you to read a little, process a lot and then read some more. That is what this book did to me, and I am sure that it will do the same to you.Published in the recreational mathematics e-mail newsletter, reprinted with permission.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book!
Review: The best collection of math topics! Each chapter is less than 5 pages and you can jump right to any of them and have fun: check "Who is the Number King", or "Hailstone Numbers", or "Hexagonal cats", or many many others. Written in "recreational" style with numerous curios facts and ideas this book provides hours of entertainment!
Rating:
Summary: Mind blowing !!
Review: The book provides very valuable information about mathematics.The language is simple and any leyman can understand it well.The book also provides brain teasers to refresh your mind.And DEFINATELY this book will generate your interest in Mathematics.Thanks Clifford Pickover.
KB.
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