The Mathematics of Various Entertaining Subjects : Research in Games, Graphs, Counting, and Complexity, Volume 2 / Jennifer Beineke, Jason Rosenhouse.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Beineke, Jennifer, editor.

Rosenhouse, Jason, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematical recreations--Research.

Mathematical recreations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (409 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The history of mathematics is filled with major breakthroughs resulting from solutions to recreational problems. Problems of interest to gamblers led to the modern theory of probability, for example, and surreal numbers were inspired by the game of Go. Yet even with such groundbreaking findings and a wealth of popular-level books, research in recreational mathematics has often been neglected. The Mathematics of Various Entertaining Subjects now returns with a brand-new compilation of fascinating problems and solutions in recreational mathematics.This latest volume gathers together the top experts in recreational math and presents a compelling look at board games, card games, dice, toys, computer games, and much more. The book is divided into five parts: puzzles and brainteasers, geometry and topology, graph theory, games of chance, and computational complexity. Readers will discover what origami, roulette wheels, and even the game of Trouble can teach about math. Essays contain new results, and the contributors include short expositions on their topic's background, providing a framework for understanding the relationship between serious mathematics and recreational games. Mathematical areas explored include combinatorics, logic, graph theory, linear algebra, geometry, topology, computer science, operations research, probability, game theory, and music theory.Investigating an eclectic mix of games and puzzles, The Mathematics of Various Entertaining Subjects is sure to entertain, challenge, and inspire academic mathematicians and avid math enthusiasts alike.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword / Graham, Ron

Preface and Acknowledgments

PART I. PUZZLES AND BRAINTEASERS

1. The Cyclic Prisoners / Winkler, Peter

2. Dragons and Kasha / Khovanova, Tanya

3. The History and Future of Logic Puzzles 23 Jason Rosenhouse / Rosenhouse, Jason

4. The Tower of Hanoi for Humans / Stockmeyer, Paul K.

5. Frenicle's 880 Magic Squares / Conway, John / Norton, Simon / Ryba, Alex

PART II GEOMETRY AND TOPOLOGY

6. A Triangle Has Eight Vertices But Only One Center / Guy, Richard K.

7. Enumeration of Solutions to Gardner's Paper Cutting and Folding Problem / Dunham, Jill Bigley / Whieldon, Gwyneth R.

8. The Color Cubes Puzzle with Two and Three Colors / Berkove, Ethan / Cervantes-Nava, David / Condon, Daniel / Eickemeyer, Andrew / Katz, Rachel / Schulman, Michael J.

9. Tangled Tangles / Demaine, Erik D. / Demaine, Martin L. / Hesterberg, Adam / Liu, Quanauan / Taylor, Ron / Uehara, Ryuhei

PART III GRAPH THEORY

10. Making Walks Count: From Silent Circles to Hamiltonian Cycles / Alekseyev, Max A. / Michon, Gérard P.

11. Duels, Truels, Gruels, and Survival of the Unfittest / Lanphier, Dominic

12. Trees, Trees, So Many Trees / Schwenk, Allen J.

13. Crossing Numbers of Complete Graphs / Elkies, Noam D.

PART IV GAMES OF CHANCE

14. Numerically Balanced Dice / Bosch, Robert / Fathauer, Robert / Segerman, Henry

15. A TROUBLE-some Simulation / Dietz, Geoffrey D.

16. A Sequence Game on a Roulette Wheel / Vallin, Robert W.

PART V COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY

17. Multinational War Is Hard / Weed, Jonathan

18. Clickomania Is Hard, Even with Two Colors and Columns / Adler, Aviv / Demaine, Erik D. / Hesterberg, Adam / Liu, Quanquan / Rudoy, Mikhail

19. Computational Complexity of Arranging Music / Demaine, Erik D. / Moses, William S.

About the Editors

About the Contributors

Index

Notes:

Copyright 2017 by Princeton University Press.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9781400889136

1400889138

OCLC:

1002065025