The mathematics of various entertaining subjects : research in recreational math / Jennifer Beineke, Jason Rosenhouse.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Beineke, Jennifer, editor.

Rosenhouse, Jason, editor.

Smullyan, Raymond M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematical recreations.

Mathematical recreations--Research.

Mathematics.

Medical Subjects:

Mathematics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (291 p.)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2015]

Language Note:

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 exploring puzzles and brainteasers, research in recreational mathematics has often been neglected. The Mathematics of Various Entertaining Subjects brings together authors from a variety of specialties to present fascinating problems and solutions in recreational mathematics. Contributors to the book show how sophisticated mathematics can help construct mazes that look like famous people, how the analysis of crossword puzzles has much in common with understanding epidemics, and how the theory of electrical circuits is useful in understanding the classic Towers of Hanoi puzzle. The card game SET is related to the theory of error-correcting codes, and simple tic-tac-toe takes on a new life when played on an affine plane. Inspirations for the book's wealth of problems include board games, card tricks, fake coins, flexagons, pencil puzzles, poker, and so much more. Looking at a plethora of eclectic 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 / Smullyan, Raymond

Preface and Acknowledgments

Part I. Vignettes

1. Should You Be Happy? / Winkler, Peter

2. One-Move Puzzles with Mathematical Content / Levitin, Anany

3. Minimalist Approaches to Figurative Maze Design / Bosch, Robert / Chartier, Tim / Rowan, Michael

4. Some ABCs of Graphs and Games / Beineke, Jennifer / Beineke, Lowell

Part II. Problems Inspired by Classic Puzzles

5. Solving the Tower of Hanoi with Random Moves / Alekseyev, Max A. / Berger, Toby

6. Groups Associated to Tetraflexagons / Beier, Julie / Yackel, Carolyn

7. Parallel Weighings of Coins / Khovanova, Tanya

8. Analysis of Crossword Puzzle Difficulty Using a Random Graph Process / McSweeney, John K.

9. From the Outside In / Smith, Derek

Part III. Playing Cards

10. Gallia Est Omnis Divisa in Partes Quattuor / Calkin, Neil / Mulcahy, Colm

11. Heartless Poker / Lanphier, Dominic / Taalman, Laura

12. An Introduction to Gilbreath Numbers / Vallin, Robert W.

Part IV. Games

13. Tic-tac-toe on Affine Planes / Carroll, Maureen T. / Dougherty, Steven T.

14. Error Detection and Correction Using SET / Gordon, Gary / McMahon, Elizabeth

15. Connection Games and Sperner's Lemma / Molnar, David

Part V. Fibonacci Numbers

16. The Cookie Monster Problem / Braswell, Leigh Marie / Khovanova, Tanya

17. Representing Numbers Using Fibonacci Variants / Lucas, Stephen K.

About the Editors

About the Contributors

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

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

ISBN:

9781400881338

1400881331

OCLC:

932463973