5 comments about Electrician's Calculations Manual.

1. I wish I had this book my first year of ELCs, it would have saved me a very big headache. This has all the primary calculations you need to get you thru to a two yr.degree.



2. This is a well crafted manual for working electricians as well as the text book for calculations classes it was originally written for.
   
   An excellent resource for apprentice studies as well as the experienced pro studying for his masters.
   
   This book could benefit from a good proof-read but the information is valid.



3. A very good manual to keep on the jobsite. Quick and easy to find calculations within, a must have for every electrician, wether a JIT, Journeyman, or Master. I was very impressed with the manual for the money. Now I have everyone at work asking to borrow it.



4. Upon first sight it appeared to be a solid text, but after getting past the first several pages there were enough typos, inaccurate calculations and blatantly wrong information that I promptly returned the book to its seller. I cannot recommend this text for anyone that will actually rely upon it for solid information.



5. This book is very handy to have with you when on a jobsite. It is small and easy to carry with you. There are times I need to go through this book to help refresh my mind in doing load calculations etc. It has been very helpful for me.

5 comments about The Square Root of Two.

1. Not exactly what I had expected, but still good nonetheless. Would make a good adjunct to an advanced high school math course.



2. An outstanding book by a master teacher, but with serious editing deficiencies.
   
   This is a relatively short and interesting book covering some substantial topics in mathematics. For the most part, it can be read without the need for pencil and paper. It is only five chapters long, and although easy to read, it does require concentration.
   
   This book is written as a discussion between a master teacher and an interested student. The teacher's words are shown in a boldface font, and the student's in an indented normal font. The selection of topics, the book's organization, and the dialog between teacher and student, help guide the reader in the appropriate direction. The book is clearly the work of an excellent teacher.
   
   The first chapter quickly displays the strengths and weaknesses of this book. A major strength is the author's ability to grab and hold your attention, making this book like a well-written mystery story, setting the stage to draw you in and to stay until a solution is revealed. It also displays the book's major weakness, poor editing.
   
   Unfortunately, there are numerous grammatical and substantive errors, some particularly serious for the reader new to the mathematics presented here. These appear as early as the first chapter. Some examples are: On page 11 the term "perfect number" is used incorrectly when "perfect square" is meant. On page 24 the word "is" is left out of a sentence. The illustration on page 23 represents the location of the "square root of two" differently, and incorrectly, as compared to the text discussion. In the sequence of square roots on page 30, the square root of six is inappropriately missing.
   
   Chapter 1. "Asking the Right Questions" shows how the square root of two can arise in the simplest of contexts, as the diagonal of a unit square (i.e., a square one unit on each side). It goes on to show how it is possible to get closer and closer to this square root's true value using integer fractions, but its does not yet prove that this value cannot be exactly represented this way.
   
   Chapter 2 introduces us to the proof of the irrationality of the square root of two and its consequences. After first presenting the proof in English, Dr Flannery shows how it can be concisely presented in mathematical notation. This Chapter explains the connection between the square root of two and the European A-Series paper sizes. It touches on Pell numbers as well as decimal expansions. The term "mixed decimal" as described in this Chapter is incorrect.
   
   Chapter 3, using more algebra than earlier, extends the previous material. Considering that the author assumes minimal mathematical sophistication from the reader, even explaining the term inverse, the material on pages 83-94 seems inappropriately demanding. That material would clearly benefit from a gentler presentation.
   
   The final two Chapters, 4 and 5, present some additional mathematical odds and ends, including the continued fraction expansion to approximate the square root of two, and some concepts connected to Gauss and Ramanujan.
   
   In summary, if the seriously deficient editing, the occasionally inappropriate definitions, and the slightly roller coaster requirements for mathematical maturity were corrected, this book could serve as an exemplar of the best teaching methods, i.e., focused questions that direct the student to find and confirm the right answers.



3. A well written introductory mathematics text that introduces the reader to the concept of irrational numbers, as well as explaining the apparent contradiction of being able to mark out a distance equal to root 2, yet at the same time the impossibility of measuring this distance exactly. The dialog style of writing makes for a very interesting approach to the teaching of mathematics. This book is a good read for all those with a general interest in matters mathematica.



4. This book is somewhat curiously organized, in the form of a dialog between a Master, who is a mathematician well acquainted with the material, and a student, who is apparently someone who has had elementary algebra but is a little uncomfortable with it. By the device of dialog, a lot of mathematics is brought out, all concerned in some way with the square root of 2.
   
   I found it pleasant to read, and recommend this book to anyone who is not so totally afraid of math that an equation scares them. You might learn some interesting math!



5. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in mathematical reasoning using the value of square root of 2 as a test case. The format is akin to a tutor-student (Socratic?) dialogue which makes the text quite interesting. Anyone with basic math skills can grasp it's contents. The text does require concentration to get the most out of it.
   
   There are quite a few editing errors in this book which is a shame because it does take away from it's quality and disrupts one's train of thought. These errors were quite annoying after a while. Some of the errors are howlers (like the one on pi). All in all a good read.

5 comments about The HarperCollins Dictionary of Mathematics.

1. I'm yet to find a better maths dictionary. Lots of definitions. Well organized/cross-referenced. As an undergraduate, I'm yet to look up something and be disappointed. Handy tables at the back.

   It doesn't get 5 stars because of a few glaring misprints.




2. If you're anything like me, you enjoy reading while in the toilet, doing one of the necessities of human nature, this reference has a great "random open" feature, where you can just slide your thumb at any page and find an interesting term you can think and learn about, I dont know how much the shallow discussion to these complex terms is really useful, but it gives you interesting things to think about, it also contains some mathematics history and some information about famous mathematicians, the paperback cover provides for some nice comfortable format, this dictionary has replaced the old Almanac I used to open randomly when I'm bored.
   A 5 star for the cuteness.
   
   Enjoy.



3. My job requires extensive technical writing skills in the form of developing mathematical algorithms or creating presentations or other documentation that frequently requires that mathematical concepts be clearly defined for the reader. Even when you think you know a good definition for a mathematical term, this dictionary will likely give you a better one. Good reference to keep around.
   
   This is perhaps one of the best, if not the best, mathematics dictionary. But it is just that, a dictionary of mathematical terms and phrases. Do no expect it to teach you any subject in mathematics. It would be great for any student taking a mathematics course. If the student runs across a term that he/she might have forgotten, the student can refer to this dictionary for a quick reminder.



4. Well written and edited. Definitions and explanations are clear and to the point. As I flipped through the book, I ran into many, many entries which I did not understand, but in that regard, an unabridged dictionary of the English language has many, many entries in it about which I know nothing.



5. I teach math in high school, and I have found this dictionary more useful than the textbook. The definitions are more precise and understandable than in a book designed to be understandable. It's compact, lightweight (because it's paperback) yet it's packed with information. It has been one of my better purchases this year.

4 comments about Ant Colony Optimization (Bradford Books).

1. This book is a fine compilation of what have been done with the Ant Colony paradigm so far. Highly readable, even for people without previous experience in the field of optimization.



2. Fifteen years after the elegant double-bridge experiments by Deneubourg et al. that formed the basis of the Ant Colony Optimization algorithm, Marco Dorigo, the inventor of ACO, and Thomas Stützle, an expert on stochastic local search methods, have pooled their knowledge to summarize the current state of the art.
   This book gives a well paced introduction to ACO, describes its use in various optimization problems and gives interesting examples of its applications in industry. Explanations are clear and concise and, with the exception of a few well defined technical terms, free of scientific jargon. It is a pleasure to read for everyone with an interest in optimization theory. However, if you are looking for a book that celebrates the beauty of nature's problem solving capabilities, you are better of with "Swarm Intelligence" or Flake's "Computational Beauty of Nature". The initial idea of ACO may be bio-inspired, but this book has a crystal clear focus of the computational considerations in optimization theory.



3. Being an ant isn't very complex, but it's a daily fight for life. The losers in that fight don't count, but the winners get to vote.
   
   That is the basis of ant colony optimization. There are many parts to the idea, all of them very simple. First, there are many routes to the goal (food, if you're an ant) - some are better, some worse, you don't know which are which in advance, and the answer may change over time. Second, it's a random search. If you find any answer at all, no matter how convoluted, you get to vote on your route. Third, there are many other ants, all voting. Any leg of a trip that is heavily followed must be part of a good route, and gets many votes. There are details, but that's about it.
   
   Chapters 1-3 are the most readable, and convey the basic spirit of the family of algorithms. Ch. 4-6 will drag a bit, for the general reader, but go into significant detail about the ant algorithm and specific applications.
   
   Ch. 7 ends the book with a warm, informal discussion of the algorithm's history and some delightful variations. Dorigo, the principal author and founder of the ant school, uses this chapter to express his pure joy at having found such a wonderful thing, and at the similar approaches that others have also found.
   
   The approach has some real limits. For example, it can solve only problems that look like finding the shortest route. The good news is that a wide range of unlikely problems can all be cast in these terms. The better news is that, given the many variations available, some form of the 'stigmergic' approach will probably solve any problem in that range. Best of all, though, is the sheer cleverness and the sincere appreciation expressed by the authors.
   
   Nature is economical, but a brilliant problem solver. This is written by someone who as able to listen in on one of the lessons.
   
   //wiredweird



4. The central idea in the book is to analyse what evolution has provided us. In the form of ants being able to find the shortest path over terrain. This ability has inspired the research described herein.
   
   The book can be read as a fascinating deconstructionist approach to observing and manipulating ant colonies. By trying to look under the observations to discern the fundamental algorithms at work. And then to apply these to such longstanding contexts as the Travelling Salesman Problem.

No comments about Studying Math: Pathways to Success.

1 comments about Communication Research Measures: A Sourcebook (Lea's Communication Series).

1. This is a must-have for anyone doing research in communication as a primer on seminal instrument development. I'm anxiously awaiting a new edition that updates concepts and measures. The book pictured on Amazon appears to be identical to the 1994 edition that I already have. I see that the publisher is now listed as LEA. The earlier edition is The Guilford Press.

5 comments about Martin Gardner's Mathematical Games.

1. Martin Gardner's 30 years of Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American magazine are some of the most fun and interesting reading I've enjoyed. I searched out back issues in the high school library, had my own subscription, and collected as many of the books as I could find. When I was looking for one of the books I didn't have and found this complete collection, I immediately ordered it. There are very few authors in any field who are as clear in their writing and as enthusiastic in their delivery as he is. The content is easily worth the full 5 stars.
   
   But the reason I dropped the rating to 4 for this particular edition is its sometimes haphazard quality of image scans. In the worst cases, the color or shading in the original figures is now black-and-white and of such high contrast that important distinctions are mostly or completely lost. For example, the reversi piece colors in figure 29 of "New Mathematical Diversions" are indistinguishable as are the four-color map areas (of all things!) in figure 43. Many figures show moire patterns from rescanning the original halftones. Yet other figures have been reproduced with much greater care, even in color. Some pages with landscape layout have been rotated for easier reading but others have not. In a few cases, the black-and-white photographs in my books have been replaced with much better color photos. Some books are missing a back cover scan.
   
   The oddest example though, and somehow in keeping with the topic, is figure 109 in "Fractal Music". In my copy of the book, this is a reproduction of Magritte's "The Two Mysteries" and the caption says so. In this edition, it is a redrawn version and the caption now says it is "a caricature" of the Magritte work. At least 4 of the books appear to be affected by poor images and at least 6 of them appear to be fine.
   
   Despite these problems, it's very handy to have the complete set of books in one place. But I'll be keeping the 4 books with the bad scans until a new edition fixes them.



2. Those of us old enough to remember Martin Gardner's columns in Scientific American should buy this CD at least for old times sake. All the favourite characters like Dr Matrix and his daughter are there and it brings back many happy memories of trying to work out some of the problems Martin posed



3. It's always a pleasure to read anything by Martin Gardner. By getting his works on disk, I can have them on my laptop - much easier than books. The only reason I give this collection 4 instead of 5 stars is that I would have liked the books to be in a more searchable format than PDFs - a minor complaint.



4. Millions of people around the world have had their interest in mathematics lit, kindled or fed by the writings of Martin Gardner. His regular column "Mathematical Recreations" appeared in "Scientific American" for over a quarter of a century and those articles were readable, entertaining and highly educational.
   This CD-ROM is a collection of all his articles organized according to the book in which they appeared. The books are:
   
   *) Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions
   *) The Second Scientific American Book of Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions
   *) New Mathematical Diversions
   *) The Unexpected Hanging and Other Mathematical Diversions
   *) Martin Gardner's 6th Book of Mathematical Diversions from Scientific American
   *) Mathematical Carnival
   *) Mathematical Magic Show
   *) Mathematical Circus
   *) The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix
   *) Wheels, Life and Other Mathematical Amusements
   *) Knotted Doughnuts and Other Mathematical Bewilderments
   *) Penrose Tiles to Trapdoor Ciphers . . . And the Return of Dr. Matrix
   *) Fractal Music, Hypercards and More . . .
   *) The Last Recreations: Hydras, Eggs, and Other Mathematical Mystifications
   
   The opening page displays icons of all of the books and clicking on any icon switches the display to a split screen where the left section contains the table of contents and the right contains the text of the book. Clicking on any entry in the TOC takes you to that article. The collection is searchable, so if you have only a dim recollection of an article you read years ago, you will still be able to find it.
   Martin Gardner is a very humble man, arguing that his skill in mathematical exposition is due to the fact that he does not know very much mathematics. He claims that this forced him to research his subject thoroughly before he began writing the article. I find this the only questionable position that he has ever taken; in my opinion the man is a mathematical genius.



5. 
   Martin Gardner has written very entertaining and engaging books about an incredibly wide variety of mathematical worlds and puzzles, and in the process made complex mathematical ideas come to life. This CD features 15 of his books in pdf form. The pdf files consist of page scans, which makes the pdf scroll a little slowly, but that isn't much of a problem.
   
   I highly recommend this to anybody interested in recreational mathematics.

2 comments about Master Math: Geometry (Master Math Series).

1. Geometry is present in nature, art, architecture, surveying, navigation, cartography, biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, all fields of engineering, and in the structure of the smallest bits of matter to the grandest galaxies. The study of geometry is like detective work-you are given bits of information and use logic and reasoning to determine what you want to know. Becoming proficient in geometry will train your mind to solve problems in a creative and efficient way-like a detective.
   
   In forming the field of geometry, ancient mathematicians developed the postulation system in which one begins with a set of unproved statements or postulates, and deduces using logic, other statements or theorems. Accordingly, the development of logic and deductive reasoning was instituted to prove geometric statements. Geometry was used by ancient people including Babylonians, Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks in practical applications such as land measurement, surveying, construction, navigation, and astronomy. Information and facts pertaining to geometry were organized and developed by Greeks between 600 and 300 B.C., and described by Euclid in his famous book Elements in approximately 300 B.C. Euclidean geometry combines related elements using the methods of logic and reasoning, and the tools of axioms, postulates, definitions, theorems, and constructions in order to prove, describe, calculate, generate, or use information pertaining to geometric objects. Euclid provided five primary postulates which can be described as: (1) One straight line connects any two points; (2) Any straight line can be extended infinitely in either direction; (3) A circle can be drawn with any center and any radius; (4) All right angles are equal; and (5) Given a line and a point not on the line, only one line can be drawn parallel to that line through the point. The process by which mathematicians attempted to verify this fifth parallel line postulate led to non-Euclidean geometries.
   
   Euclidean geometry describes the world we think we see around us in which the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, the angles in a triangle always sum to 180°, and parallel lines lie in the same plane, remain equidistant, and never intersect even if they are infinitely long. Non-Euclidean geometries are less obvious. In spherical geometry, which takes place on a sphere and is used by pilots, ship's captains, and astronomers, no parallel lines exist, the angles in a triangle sum to greater than 180°, and the shortest distance between two points is a great circle (the largest circle that can be drawn through any point on a sphere). In hyperbolic geometry, which can be represented in two dimensions as saddle-shaped, the angles in a triangle sum to less than 180°, and through a point not on a line, there is more than one line parallel to that line. Euclidean geometry provides an excellent repre-sentation for part of the universe that we observe, but in the study of certain aspects of our universe, or the universe itself, non-Euclidean geometries may provide a more accurate portrayal. For example, in Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, matter produces curved space-time. Compare a Euclidean triangle, a Hyperbolic triangle, and a Spherical triangle!
   
   Another branch of geometry developed in the 17th century by René Descartes is coordinate geometry, also called analytic geometry, which is the study of geometry using the analytical methods of algebra. This approach involves placing a geometric figure into a coordinate system illustrating a proof, and obtaining information about the figure using algebraic equations.
   
   Today, geometry has been joined with computers and computer-aided design and is used in fields such as automobile manufacturing, computer vision, robotics, video game programming, virtual reality, aerospace, and architecture. Architecture examples include the innova-tive work of Frank O. Gehry in his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and Norman Foster's striking glass and steel London City Hall.
   
   Master Math: Geometry provides everything a high school or first year college student needs to know including an explanation of deductive reasoning, how to perform proofs and constructions, as well as definitions, theorems, postulates, and examples pertaining to points, lines, planes, angles, ratios, proportions, triangles, congruence, similarity, quadrilaterals, polygons, circles, surface area and volume of geometric solids, and coordinate, or analytic, geometry. Master Math: Geometry is part of the Master Math series, which is comprised of Master Math: Basic Math and Pre-Algebra, Master Math: Algebra, Master Math: Trigonometry, Master Math: Pre-Calculus and Geometry, and Master Math: Calculus. This book and those previously listed are written to provide clear, easy to understand, comprehensive reference sources that allow quick access to explanations of concepts, principles, definitions, examples, and applications. Master Math: Geometry is written to assist high school and college students, teachers, tutors, and parents, as well as to serve as a reference for scientists, engineers, architects, or anyone needing a basic reference.
   
   
   Table of Contents
   
   
   Introduction
   
   CHAPTER 1: Deductive Reasoning and Proofs
   
   1.1. The language of geometry
   
   1.2. Deductive reasoning
   
   1.3. Theorems and how to write a proof
   
   1.4. Key axioms and postulates
   
   1.5. Chapter 1 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 2: Points, Lines, Planes, and Angles
   
   2.1. Points, lines, and planes
   
   2.2. Line segments and distance
   
   2.3. Parallel lines
   
   2.4. Perpendicular lines
   
   2.5. Distances and bisectors
   
   2.6. Rays and angles
   
   2.7. Chapter 2 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 3: Ratios and Proportions
   
   3.1. Ratios and proportions
   
   3.2. Proportional segments
   
   3.3. Chapter 3 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 4: Triangles, Congruence, and Similarity
   
   4.1. Triangle definitions, interior angle sum, and exterior angles
   
   4.2. Types of triangles
   
   4.3. Parts of triangles, altitude, bisector, median, and Ceva's Theorem
   
   4.4. Inequalities and triangles
   
   4.5. Congruent triangles
   
   4.6. Similar triangles: Congruent angles and sides in proportion
   
   4.7. Similar right triangles
   
   4.8. Right triangles: Pythagorean Theorem and 30°:60°:90° and 45°:45°:90° triangles
   
   4.9. Triangles and trigonometric functions
   
   4.10. Area of a triangle
   
   4.11. Chapter 4 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 5: Polygons and Quadrilaterals
   
   5.1. Polygons
   
   5.2. Sum of the interior and exterior angles in a polygon
   
   5.3. Regular polygons and their interior and exterior angle measures
   
   5.4. Quadrilaterals
   
   5.5. Parallelograms
   
   5.6. Special parallelograms: Rectangles, rhombuses, and squares
   
   5.7. Trapezoids
   
   5.8. Area and perimeter of squares, rectangles, parallelograms, rhombuses, trapezoids, other polygons, and regular polygons
   
   5.9. Congruence, area, and similarity
   
   5.10. Chapter 5 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 6: Circles
   
   6.1. Circles: Definitions
   
   6.2. Arcs, central angles, and inscribed angles
   
   6.3. Chords, arcs, and angles
   
   6.4. Secants, angles, arcs, and segments
   
   6.5. Tangents
   
   6.6. Circumference and area of circles and sectors
   
   6.7. Circumscribed and inscribed polygons
   
   6.8. Chapter 6 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 7: Geometric Solids: Surface Area and Volume of Three-Dimensional Objects
   
   7.1. Solids
   
   7.2. Prisms: Cubes, rectangular solids, and oblique and right prisms
   
   7.3. Pyramids
   
   7.4. Cylinders
   
   7.5. Cones
   
   7.6. Spheres
   
   7.7. Similar solids
   
   7.8. Cavalieri's principle
   
   7.9. Chapter 7 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 8: Constructions and Loci
   
   8.1. Introduction
   
   8.2. Constructions involving lines and angles
   
   8.3. Constructions involving triangles
   
   8.4. Constructions involving circles and polygons
   
   8.5. Construction involving area
   
   8.6. Locus of points
   
   8.7. Chapter 8 summary and highlights
   
   
   CHAPTER 9: Coordinate or Analytic Geometry
   
   9.1. Rectangular coordinate systems: Definitions
   
   9.2. Distance between points
   
   9.3. Midpoint formula
   
   9.4. Slope of a line including parallel and perpendicular lines
   
   9.5. Defining linear equations
   
   9.6. Graphing linear equations
   
   9.7. Chapter 9 summary and highlights
   
   
   Index



2. The best presentation of geometry I have ever seen. The topics are presented in a logical manner so that they build, are in context, and make sense. It explains logic and proofs in a way students can really understand. Definitions are provided in the beginning so you can orient yourself and understand the jargon of geometry from the start. It presents concepts three ways: a description, a picture, and a description of the picture. It makes learning so easy! There are plenty of real-world and fun examples and tidbits of information that makes learning fun. It is clear, concise, and the topics have a flow and context that makes is easier to learn the material whether you are taking geometry for the first time, are older and need a review, or are taking higher level math, science or engineering classes and need to quickly look something up and understand it. Learning geometry does not need to be a frustrating experience! Everything you need for basic geometry is in this book! Master Math: Basic Math and Pre-Algebra, Master Math: Algebra, Master Math: Trigonometry, Master Math: Pre-Calculus and Geometry, and Master Math: Calculus are also fantastic!

4 comments about Calculus for the Forgetful.

1. I'm really impressed with the way this book handles complicated and subtle calculus ideas in an accessible way. I hadn't taken calculus in quite some time when I first looked at it, and it really did jog my memory! If you're looking for a good resource that isn't a textbook (or that doesn't pack the price of a textbook but covers the same material), this is it!



2. This book has all the right scaffolding to hold up the building that is calculus. Small, easy to carry and has everything you need in a calculus reference. Plus, while covering the basics nicely, there are expert comments included for those who are interested, and they are marked by a different type-setting so that the user who just needs to get in and get out can easily skip these parts. Perfect for the calculus 2, 3, physics, engineering, or other student who needs the occassional calculus refresher/reference.



3. This book is the perfect response to the modern calculus textbook that provides so much information that students can't see the forest for the trees. It focuses tightly on building understanding of central concepts by the use of intuitive arguments and well chosen examples. Particularly effective are the examples that address common misunderstandings and mistakes by demonstrating what not to do.



4. Calculus for the Forgetful by Wojciech Kosek is an excellent short calculus book. The author fundamentally achieves the goals outlined in the preface. The prose highlights the "core ideas and concepts" of the subject. Enhancement with proofs and examples is natural and easy. I certainly would consider using this as a primary text if supplemented with a collection of exercises, problems, and projects.
   
   I am used to teaching calculus in a very intensive format in which each class lasts 3½ weeks. The professor must "trim all the fat" (some say "execute a full liposuction") in order to achieve success. Thus, I naturally favor a shorter treatment than the usual encyclopedic calculus text. Kosek's effort certainly is the best I have come across. I will recommend it to my students as a supplement to text adopted by my department. In fact, I will suggest they buy and keep Calculus for the Forgetful and sell the regular text to a subsequent student.

5 comments about The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty.

1. Chapter two, second paragraph: "The Milky Way galaxy contains 200 billion stars..."
   Chapter two, a few pages later: "Fifteen billion is also more or less the number of stars in the galaxy." Obviously, the number of stars in the galaxy is not precisely known, but we do know that 15 billion and 200 billion are two different things. One of the author's "truths" is self-evidently not true. Purveyors of "truth and beauty", whether scientists, gurus, philosophers, spiritual leaders, or journalists, often regard their subject and their audience far too casually. Here we have a case in point. Perhaps most books contain 'typos' and the miscues inherent to humanity, but here it seems that both the author and the editor were asleep at the wheel, something that needs to be addressed if the book achieves a second printing (and I don't see why that would happen).
   The subject is truly fascinating; or at least it should be -- the relationship of aesthetics, mathematics, and logic. At the deepest levels of the human intellect's inquiries, the answers are all about a mysterious mathematical beauty. The reality of this escapes most people, which is why the "National Bestseller" heading on the cover of Cole's book intrigued me. Apparently the book has enjoyed a larger readership than most such popularizations. Unfortunately the superficial, disjoined 'newspaper style' of science serves the material poorly. The writing rambles almost aimlessly. The books of many mathematicians and physicists have examined the relationship of reality, reason, mathematics, and aesthetics. Devlin's 'The Language of Mathematics' is very good. Fairly recent works by Penrose, Davies, Rucker, Berlinski, Greene, and others come to mind. Some of these books are far better than others. This volume is one of the others.



2. Being disenchanted with religion, I picked up this and other books in search of some other kind of truth. I do feel as though after reading this book I have a much better understanding of what 'truth' is and what it's not. I think those who nit-pick about their claims of little discrepancies in the book are really missing out on the bigger picture. The book is full of interesting little facts and factoids but the interesting thing to me was to see how she's pulled together these common insights that are gained from so many fields of study. I think this was just about my favorite book ever.



3. That's a direct quote from Amazon, and boy, were they right. Only Cole would link the O.J. Simpson trial to the discovery of the top quark in order to explain various roads to truth. The best part is the relationship between beauty and truth, in which she explains the unexplainable--showing how Einstein's theories (and in fact, all modern physics) is based on the notion of symmetry. But there's also so much less etheral food for thought here: the geometry of fairness, for example!



4. Expounds some sort of "new age" mathematics where clarity,
   accuracy and consistency are evidently unwelcome. Perhaps
   this was intended to make the result non-threatening, but it
   is neither beautiful nor useful.
   
   It will go down in history -- with luck, leaving not a trace.



5. Three stars? For a book that was a best seller from LA to Taiwan, and is an absolute delight? Beloved of physicists and teachers across the country? Clearly, politics has tainted many of the comments. Yes, Cole is a liberal--but then, so are many scientists... and for a good reason! This is a five star book if there ever was one.