The Lighter Side of Mathematics : Proceedings of the Eugène Strens Memorial Conference on Recreational Mathematics and its History (Spectrum)

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Summary: Mathematics based on the just because principle
Review: Like so many of the "hard" sciences, mathematics suffers from a perception complex. The public view of the practice and practitioners is that of a hopeless muddle of esoteric babble. But to paraphrase E. T. Bell, "mathematicians are as human as the rest, sometimes more so." One could make a solid argument that human essence can be boiled down to the creation and appreciation of art, employing a strategy in playing games with the only goal that of winning a non-essential prize, doing things for the mental exercise and seeing patterns where none is immediately obvious. All of these items are found in applied mathematics and in this case it is called recreational mathematics.
No artwork requires more thought to understand than that of M. C. Escher, where so many objects start as one thing and are somehow metamorphed into others. Many of the current ideas of fractals can be found in his drawings. So many "simple" games that we are exposed to have strategies that are mathematical in nature. But some, like chess, seem to defy solid mathematical analysis and show us once again how powerful the human computer really is. As the numbers of such puzzles appearing in newspapers and magazines indicates, a large percentage of the public enjoys a good mental tickler.
This collection is a distillation of those thoughts, featuring mathematical explanations of most. The works here show once again that the distinction between mathematics and the rest of the world is an artificial one put up by small minds. Mathematics is a joyous endeavor that provides more joy and frustration than any other ever imagined by intellects on par with that of humans. It is a joy to read about people doing mathematics for no other reason than recreation. It is also sad to realize that so many people who proudly wear a badge of mathematical illiteracy are so far gone that the do not realize it when they are employing mathematics in a recreational manner. For a short time, one of the best-selling books was one describing how to solve the puzzle known as "Rubik's Cube." As is explained here, the solution is based on beginning group theory.
A welcome addition to the literature, this report of the Strens conference is refreshing. For it shows mathematicians and their ilk having fun doing mathematics. To be blunt, that is something that the public simply does not understand.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.