Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating dictionary
Review: These short essays, arranged alphabetically present a peek into mathematical topics, some I've long forgotten (differentials) and others new (non-Euclidian geometry). Paulos writes directly, usually without formulas, and if a particular essay doesn't click for you, keep turning, there's a new one in a few pages. Although the essays are mostly independent, there are some interesting connections. In light of the California governors voting recall, the section on voting systems seems clairvoyant, but he warns against the "Jean Dixon" effect in an earlier essay. The essays present mathematics as a dynamic field, and something as basic as variables, was just invented in the 16th century. Even since this book first came out, Fermat's last theorem has been proved, and there is even a larger prime number. For those working with computers, there is a reminder of some of the mathematical background such as Al-Khwarizmi in Baghdad inventing the "Algorithm", the Turing Test, and sorting. Paulos always touches on the human aspects of math, such as the fractal nature of human consciousness or mathematics in ethics.
QED - a great read
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant, unusual, and well-written survey
Review: This book is extraordinarily witty and well-written and manages to cover an amazing amount of mathematics in its 80 or so short segments. Great for a survey course or for someone who wants a feel for mathematics but can't bear to read a clunky textbook.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, fun-to-read educational book
Review: This book was required for my contemporay mathematics class in school, and I thought it was wonderful. Paulos explains many areas of mathematics so that anyone can understand. He does this using real-world examples. Paulos also explains how many common items in our lives are based on math. I think this is great for the student who finds himself/herself saying, "When am I ever going to use this in real life?" during their math classes.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT INTRO REFERENCE TO SIMPLE AND COMPLEX MATH
Review: This is almost a sequel to Innumeracy in which Paulos goes beyond the simple exposition of people's difficulties with math to teach, in a very readable fashion, to main concepts of mathematics, be it simple high school, college, or even the complex research mathematics.
The nice thing about this book is that you can read it bit by bit, since each chapter that deals with a topic is about 3-5 pages long, so you won't get bored and if you don't understand one topic you can move on to the next one. The topics are not really connected, so one can just move on to somehting one finds more interesting.
Overall, I believe I now know what many of the complex topics like chaos theory are about. Enough for a cocktail conversation with a mathematician at least.
| 
