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Good maths books/Textbooks

24

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 744 ✭✭✭Darren1o1


    http://www.mth.uea.ac.uk/jtm/
    Is free online engineering and science book in modules, not too bad, is general and goes from the basics to laplace, fourier and ODE's.

    I found Engineering Mathematics by KA shroud good for basics in engineering and the Advanced Engineering Mathematics 8th by A E. Kreyzig pretty good also.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12 sillysod1234


    amy good titles out there about the history of zero


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭dan719


    Would definately recomend a couple already mentioned. i.e the man who loved only numbers, simon sing's two books, but also Prime Obsession, it introduces at an understandable level The Riemann Hypothesis and also acts as a biography of the man himself. Also The dictionary of weird and interesting numbers is well worth a look.(thnk Hardy's taxi 1729-smallest number that can be written as sum of cubes in two different ways)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,149 ✭✭✭ZorbaTehZ


    "Men of Mathematics" E.T. Bell
    Historical account of the lives of many famous mathematicians for example Euler, Cauchy, Lobatchewsky, Galois, Boole etc. Apparently it is the book that inspired John Nash to study mathematics, amongst others. Although there are many inaccuracies in the recounts, it still makes for fascinating reading.

    "Mathematics in Western Culture" Morris Kline
    Great book that shows the connections between Mathematics and various other disciplines, music, art, life, etc. It's on GoogleBooks here.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 827 ✭✭✭thebaldsoprano


    Concrete Mathematics - Not sure of the author and I haven't read it but I've been told its pretty good.

    It is indeed, provides a good intro to a few areas of college level maths.

    One of the authors is Donald Knuth. Say no more...

    And on the subject,

    "The Art of Computer Programming - Donald Knuth" has lots of interesting maths in it...

    Doubt there'd be many people around who can read the whole thing, but good for dipping in to.

    My favorite is:

    "How to Solve It - G Polya"

    Looks at problem solving techniques without going into anything too heavy.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,149 ✭✭✭ZorbaTehZ


    Speaking of problem solving books, I'd recommend Paul Zeitz' 'The Art of Problem Solving' and Arthur Engel's 'Problem-Solving Strategies'. Two excellent books, especially the former.


  • Registered Users Posts: 219 ✭✭rjt


    ZorbaTehZ wrote: »
    Speaking of problem solving books, I'd recommend Paul Zeitz' 'The Art of Problem Solving' and Arthur Engel's 'Problem-Solving Strategies'. Two excellent books, especially the former.

    Seconded. And Knuth's books too.

    "Calculus" by Michael Spivak is excellent. Also, "Galois Theory" by Ian Stewart (which has some great historical stuff in it).


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,295 ✭✭✭p to the e


    The Road to Reality by Roger Penrose is a very good book. this is the mathmatician that inspired Stephen Hawking. He describes the use of numbers in applications like Thermodynamics to String Theory and it's laid out in a relatively easy fashion.


  • Posts: 4,630 ✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    I know they're far more physics-y than maths-y, and that there probably is absolutely no need to even mention them, as I'm sure most people looking at this thread would have read them, or at least know of them. But the Feynman Lectures on Physics are a must.

    Genius, Feynmans biography by James Gleick, is also brilliant.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,151 ✭✭✭Thomas_S_Hunterson


    tchelyzt wrote: »
    However, if I could take only one book to the proverbial desert island, it would have to be:
    Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter

    We can argue over whether it's a maths book - it defies classification - but I can't imagine a mathematician who wouldn't adore it.

    Picked this up today, looking forward to it.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 48 timbrophy


    How are you getting on with GEB? It is one of my two favourite books of all time.

    If you can get a copy of "What is the Name of this Book" by Raymond Smullyan, which is the other, you will find it also explores Godel's theorem from a different direction - Logic Puzzles. I think it is out of print but you may be able to pick up a second-hand copy somewhere.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,151 ✭✭✭Thomas_S_Hunterson


    timbrophy wrote: »
    How are you getting on with GEB? It is one of my two favourite books of all time.
    Really enjoying it so far, it's thought provoking and mind-expanding and structured really nicely.
    timbrophy wrote: »
    If you can get a copy of "What is the Name of this Book" by Raymond Smullyan, which is the other, you will find it also explores Godel's theorem from a different direction - Logic Puzzles. I think it is out of print but you may be able to pick up a second-hand copy somewhere.
    I must look into this, I've heard it mentioned before. Seems it's available on Amazon so I might grab it next time I place an order.


  • Posts: 4,630 ✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Just finished reading the biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan, it's called The Man Who Knew Infinity. Very good book. And Ramanujan was such an amazing person - such a pity about his early death.


  • Registered Users Posts: 384 ✭✭mrhappy42




  • Registered Users Posts: 7,046 ✭✭✭eZe^


    I got The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers by Alfred S. Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann three or so years ago and I really really enjoyed it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2 confurius


    I gonna write my maths higher in June.
    looking the book Text & Test 5. Ive got text & Test 4 already but cant find the following:confused:. does anyone know?


  • Posts: 4,630 ✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    confurius wrote: »
    I gonna write my maths higher in June.
    looking the book Text & Test 5. Ive got text & Test 4 already but cant find the following:confused:. does anyone know?

    This isn't the thread for this. But, here are second hand books, or here it is new.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2 confurius


    This isn't the thread for this. But, here are second hand books, or here it is new.

    Good man:rolleyes: Thanks


  • Registered Users Posts: 442 ✭✭random.stranger


    Yes really excellent books, very suited to engineers who want to be able to solve the problems without theory overload (however shortsighted that may be!). The complex variable stuff is particularly good in the Advanced version, as it's quite hard to get access to good examples in that area.

    I'd recommend: Advanced Engineering Mathematics (same name!) by Erwin Kreyszig, similar to Dapper's Advanced book above but quite a lot more topics and detail.
    Yes, these are excellent books. I couldn't recommend them highly enough. I would NOT say that they are exclusevely for engineers either. A lot of the content of Engineering Maths (KA Stroud) is relevent to leaving certificate students. It starts off at a basic level with worked examples and builds up your understanding as you go through it. It is very easy to go through it on your own. Stroud is a genius.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43 gcdwebmaster


    I was a fan of Engineering Maths by K.A. Stroud - helped me in my Science Degree no end, its beige cover was creased

    I liked some of the popular science books by Ian Stewart which contained many mathematical elements in them


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  • Registered Users Posts: 271 ✭✭Clinker


    amy good titles out there about the history of zero

    Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 90 ✭✭ugliest


    Looooooooooooooooooooove this book: How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide

    Really funny and insanely easy to read. Physically had a fight with someone in the library the week before exams because we both wanted to check it out.

    The Man Who Loved Only Numbers <- The biography of Paul Erdős. Don't think anyone has mentioned this, really worth reading, this book was the reason I finally bit the bullet and decided to study maths at college. Really easy to read and about a fascinating guy. (sidenote: what's YOUR erdos number? :p)


  • Registered Users Posts: 271 ✭✭Clinker


    ugliest wrote: »
    Looooooooooooooooooooove this book: The Man Who Loved Only Numbers <- The biography of Paul Erdős. Don't think anyone has mentioned this, really worth reading, this book was the reason I finally bit the bullet and decided to study maths at college. Really easy to read and about a fascinating guy. (sidenote: what's YOUR erdos number? :p)

    A very strange man. Possibly more amusing to read about than to deal with! Fascinating book.

    My Erdős number is three. What's yours?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,483 ✭✭✭Ostrom


    +1 on K.A. Stroud, served me well for civil eng. I'm trying to get hold of 'The cult of significance', has anyone read it?


  • Registered Users Posts: 966 ✭✭✭equivariant


    "Proofs from the Book" by Martin Aigner and Guenter Ziegler is one of my favourite maths books and is a must read for anyone interested in the beauty and elegance of mathematical proof.

    The title of the book is inspired by Erdos (I think) who speculated that God kept a book of the most perfect and beautiful mathematical arguments. Aigner and Ziegler have put together a collection of the proofs that they think would be included in "The Book".


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1 Damocles_Swords


    Agree on Stroud for Maths. I used for my eng degree in Scotland as well as his Advanced Engineering Maths and Laplace books. We were asked to used Krysig in second year and for it dreadful.
    I think for some interesting reading Simon Singhs' "Fermats Last Theorem" is also a good read.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,149 ✭✭✭ZorbaTehZ


    "Proofs from the Book" by Martin Aigner and Guenter Ziegler is one of my favourite maths books and is a must read for anyone interested in the beauty and elegance of mathematical proof.

    +1. Such an amazing book.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27 Fr.Ebula Conundrum


    Does anyone know if there's any interesting/good books about maths theories etc?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,481 ✭✭✭Fremen


    Millions, yeah. From a pop science/maths perspective, try Fermat's last theorem by Simon Singh, The mathematical experience by Davis and Hersh, Chaos by James Gleick, Meta-maths by Chaitin or Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstader.

    For more technical recommendations, I'd have to know what you're interested in and what level you're at. "The Cauchy-Schwarz Master Class" by Steele is supposedly very readable even without a grounding in calculus. Generatingfunctionology is freely available online, and has some nice results which you don't need to work too hard for.

    My former PhD supervisor taught himself multivariate calculus while in school, then went on to teach himself special and finally general relativity. You could try doing that ;)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,602 ✭✭✭Funkfield


    Fremen wrote: »
    Millions, yeah. From a pop science/maths perspective, try Fermat's last theorem by Simon Singh, The mathematical experience by Davis and Hersh, Chaos by James Gleick, Meta-maths by Chaitin or Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstader.

    +1

    Excellent book


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