Want to know what books Robin Wilson recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Robin Wilson's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
H. Martyn Cundy, A. P. Rollett | 4.40
This is the classic book of detailed instructions for making a wide variety of mathematical models of all kinds. Complete nets are given for all regular Archimedean and stellated polyhedra together with a number of interesting compounds. There are sections on paper folding, dissections, curve stitching, linkages, the drawing of loci and envelopes and the construction of plane tessellations. The volume is fully illustrated with diagrams and photographs of models in paper and other materials and all have been successfully made and tested.
Note, for books that provide the nets and... more This is the classic book of detailed instructions for making a wide variety of mathematical models of all kinds. Complete nets are given for all regular Archimedean and stellated polyhedra together with a number of interesting compounds. There are sections on paper folding, dissections, curve stitching, linkages, the drawing of loci and envelopes and the construction of plane tessellations. The volume is fully illustrated with diagrams and photographs of models in paper and other materials and all have been successfully made and tested.
Note, for books that provide the nets and instructions to make various solids, look at Make Shapes 1, Make Shapes 2, and Paper Polyhedra in Colour. Cundy and Rollett provides both a wider range of nets but not in ready-made form. less See more recommendations for this book...
2
Between 1860 and 1897 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known to the ages as Lewis Carroll, produced over 180 booklets, leaflets, pamphlets, and instruction manuals. Varying radically in length and subject matter, they testify to Dodgson's unparalleled creativity and eclecticism. This volume, second in a series, concentrates on Dodgson's career as mathematical lecturerr of Christ Church, Oxford. Most of the material collected here has not appeared in print since the author's lifetime. Appearing in chronlogical order by mathematical subject, each section is preceded by an introductory essay providing... more Between 1860 and 1897 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known to the ages as Lewis Carroll, produced over 180 booklets, leaflets, pamphlets, and instruction manuals. Varying radically in length and subject matter, they testify to Dodgson's unparalleled creativity and eclecticism. This volume, second in a series, concentrates on Dodgson's career as mathematical lecturerr of Christ Church, Oxford. Most of the material collected here has not appeared in print since the author's lifetime. Appearing in chronlogical order by mathematical subject, each section is preceded by an introductory essay providing background information to assist both the general reader and the specialist. Everal aspects of Dodgson;s personlaity as well as imprtnat events in the Victorian period that influenced his views and the mathematical topics he chose to write about are discussed in the general introduction. less See more recommendations for this book...
3
John Fauvel, Jeremy Gray | 3.91
In 1922 Barnes Wallis, who later invented the bouncing bomb immortalized in the movie The Dam Busters, fell in love for the first and last time, aged 35. The object of his affection, Molly Bloxam, was 17 and setting off to study science at University College London. Her father decreed that the two could correspond only if Barnes taught Molly mathematics in his letters.
Mathematics with Love presents, for the first time, the result of this curious dictat: a series of witty, tender and totally accessible introductions to calculus, trigonometry and electrostatic induction that... more In 1922 Barnes Wallis, who later invented the bouncing bomb immortalized in the movie The Dam Busters, fell in love for the first and last time, aged 35. The object of his affection, Molly Bloxam, was 17 and setting off to study science at University College London. Her father decreed that the two could correspond only if Barnes taught Molly mathematics in his letters.
Mathematics with Love presents, for the first time, the result of this curious dictat: a series of witty, tender and totally accessible introductions to calculus, trigonometry and electrostatic induction that remarkably, wooed and won the girl. Deftly narrated by Barnes and Molly's daughter Mary, Mathematics with Love is an evocative tale of a twenties courtship, a surprising insight into the early life of a World War Two hero, and a great way to learn a little mathematics.
less See more recommendations for this book...
4
This compact, well-written history — first published in 1948, and now in its fourth revised edition — describes the main trends in the development of all fields of mathematics from the first available records to the middle of the 20th century. Students, researchers, historians, specialists — in short, everyone with an interest in mathematics — will find it engrossing and stimulating.
Beginning with the ancient Near East, the author traces the ideas and techniques developed in Egypt, Babylonia, China, and Arabia, looking into such manuscripts as the Egyptian Papyrus Rhind, the Ten... more This compact, well-written history — first published in 1948, and now in its fourth revised edition — describes the main trends in the development of all fields of mathematics from the first available records to the middle of the 20th century. Students, researchers, historians, specialists — in short, everyone with an interest in mathematics — will find it engrossing and stimulating.
Beginning with the ancient Near East, the author traces the ideas and techniques developed in Egypt, Babylonia, China, and Arabia, looking into such manuscripts as the Egyptian Papyrus Rhind, the Ten Classics of China, and the Siddhantas of India. He considers Greek and Roman developments from their beginnings in Ionian rationalism to the fall of Constantinople; covers medieval European ideas and Renaissance trends; analyzes 17th- and 18th-century contributions; and offers an illuminating exposition of 19th century concepts. Every important figure in mathematical history is dealt with — Euclid, Archimedes, Diophantus, Omar Khayyam, Boethius, Fermat, Pascal, Newton, Leibniz, Fourier, Gauss, Riemann, Cantor, and many others.
For this latest edition, Dr. Struik has both revised and updated the existing text, and also added a new chapter on the mathematics of the first half of the 20th century. Concise coverage is given to set theory, the influence of relativity and quantum theory, tensor calculus, the Lebesgue integral, the calculus of variations, and other important ideas and concepts. The book concludes with the beginnings of the computer era and the seminal work of von Neumann, Turing, Wiener, and others.
"The author's ability as a first-class historian as well as an able mathematician has enabled him to produce a work which is unquestionably one of the best." — Nature Magazine. less See more recommendations for this book...
5
This is the first full-scale biography of Leonhard Euler (1707-83), one of the greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists of all time. In this comprehensive and authoritative account, Ronald Calinger connects the story of Euler's eventful life to the astonishing achievements that place him in the company of Archimedes, Newton, and Gauss. Drawing chiefly on Euler's massive published works and correspondence, which fill more than eighty volumes so far, this biography sets Euler's work in its multilayered context--personal, intellectual, institutional, political, cultural, religious, and... more This is the first full-scale biography of Leonhard Euler (1707-83), one of the greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists of all time. In this comprehensive and authoritative account, Ronald Calinger connects the story of Euler's eventful life to the astonishing achievements that place him in the company of Archimedes, Newton, and Gauss. Drawing chiefly on Euler's massive published works and correspondence, which fill more than eighty volumes so far, this biography sets Euler's work in its multilayered context--personal, intellectual, institutional, political, cultural, religious, and social. It is a story of nearly incessant accomplishment, from Euler's fundamental contributions to almost every area of pure and applied mathematics--especially calculus, number theory, notation, optics, and celestial, rational, and fluid mechanics--to his advancements in shipbuilding, telescopes, ballistics, cartography, chronology, and music theory.
The narrative takes the reader from Euler's childhood and education in Basel through his first period in St. Petersburg, 1727-41, where he gained a European reputation by solving the Basel problem and systematically developing analytical mechanics. Moving to Berlin, Euler published his famous Introductio in analysin infinitorum, devised continuum mechanics, proposed a pulse theory of light, and faced Frederick the Great. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1766, Euler created the analytical calculus of variations, developed the most precise lunar theory of the time that supported Newton's dynamics, and published the best-selling Letters to a German Princess--all despite eye problems that ended in near-total blindness. In telling Euler's remarkable story, the book also demonstrates with new depth and detail the central role of mathematics in the Enlightenment. less See more recommendations for this book...
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