The Best Writing on Mathematics 2013

 

Mircea Pitici 

Princeton University Press | 2014 | 273 páginas | rar - pdf | 3,65 Mb

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This annual anthology brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field,The Best Writing on Mathematics 2013 makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else--and you don't need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today's hottest mathematical debates. Here Philip Davis offers a panoramic view of mathematics in contemporary society; Terence Tao discusses aspects of universal mathematical laws in complex systems; Ian Stewart explains how in mathematics everything arises out of nothing; Erin Maloney and Sian Beilock consider the mathematical anxiety experienced by many students and suggest effective remedies; Elie Ayache argues that exchange prices reached in open market transactions transcend the common notion of probability; and much, much more.

Contents
Foreword
Roger Penrose ix
Introduction
Mircea Pitici xv
The Prospects for Mathematics in a Multimedia Civilization
Philip J. Davis 1
Fearful Symmetry
Ian Stewart 23
E pluribus unum: From Complexity, Universality
Terence Tao 32
Degrees of Separation
Gregory Goth 47
Randomness
Charles Seife 52
Randomness in Music
Donald E. Knuth 56
Playing the Odds
Soren Johnson 62
Machines of the Infinite
John Pavlus 67
Bridges, String Art, and Bézier Curves
Renan Gross 77
Slicing a Cone for Art and Science
Daniel S. Silver 90
High Fashion Meets Higher Mathematics
Kelly Delp 109
The Jordan Curve Theorem Is Nontrivial
Fiona Ross and William T. Ross 120
Why Mathematics? What Mathematics?
Anna Sfard 130
Math Anxiety: Who Has It, Why It Develops, and How to Guard against It
Erin A. Maloney and Sian L. Beilock 143
How Old Are the Platonic Solids?
David R. Lloyd 149
Early Modern Mathematical Instruments
Jim Bennett 163
A Revolution in Mathematics? What Really Happened a Century Ago and Why It Matters Today
Frank Quinn 175
Errors of Probability in Historical Context
Prakash Gorroochurn 191
The End of Probability
Elie Ayache 213
An abc Proof Too Tough Even for Mathematicians
Kevin Hartnett 225
Contributors 231
Notable Texts 237
Acknowledgments 241
Credits 243

Outros livros da mesma coleção:

The best writing on mathematics 2011 por Mircea Pitici; Idioma: Inglês   Editora: Princeton : Princeton University Press, ©2012.

The best writing on mathematics 2010 por Mircea Pitici; Idioma: Inglês   Editora: Princeton : Princeton University Press, ©2011.

Math in Society

David Lippman

DL, LuLu | 2011 | 215 páginas | PDF | 5 Mb

online :  dlippman.imathas.com

A survey of math for liberal arts majors. This book is a survey of contemporary mathematical topics: voting theory, weighted voting, fair division, graph theory, scheduling, growth models, finance math, statistics, and historical counting systems. Core material for each topic is covered in the main text, with additional depth available through exploration exercises appropriate for in-class, group, or individual investigation.

The text is designed so that most chapters are independent, allowing the instructor to choose a selection of topics to be covered. 
Emphasis is placed on the applicability of the mathematics. 

Contents
Voting Theory
Weighted Voting
Fair Division
Graph Theory
Scheduling 
Growth Models
Finance 
Statistics
Describing Data by David Lippman, Jeff Eldridge
Historical Counting Systems by Lawrence Morales
Solutions to Selected Exercises

The Anthropology of Numbers

Thomas Crump

Cambridge University Press | 1992 | 212 páginas | PDF | 4,49 Mb

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Why do the Nuer stipulate forty cattle in brideprice? Why is the number ten so important in North American mythology? What does the anthropologist Clifford Geertz really mean to say when he talks about the correspondence of Balinese time cycles? Numbers play some part, often quite central, in almost all known cultures, yet until now the subject has never been examined in detail from an anthropological perspective. This book is the first attempt to find out how people in a wide range of diverse cultures and in different historical contexts, use and understand numbers. The opening chapters provide the basis for looking at the way numbers operate in different contexts, by looking at the logical, psychological and linguistic implications. The following eight chapters deal with specific themes: ethnoscience, politics, measurement, time, money, music, games and architecture. The final chapter relates such operations to social, economic and cultural factors.

The Japanese numbers game: the use and understanding of numbers in modern Japan

Thomas Crump

Routledge | 1992 | 224 páginas | PDF | 1,2 Mb

lib.freescienceengineering.org

Descrição:
An almost obsessional use of numbers characterizes Japanese popular culture. A wide variety of numerical formulas and strategies provide the means for explaining events and solving problems occurring in everyday life. These include such matters as the choice of the name for a child, ranking in almost any game or sport, the diagnosis and cure of illness, or the decision to accept a new job.

The Japanese Numbers Game provides a general study of the whole field of Japanese popular numeracy. It introduces, in fascinating detail, a world of numbers in which fortune-telling, the abacus, games involving numbers as well as curious numerical names (of both people and places) illustrate a popular obsession with systems of counting, calculation, and forecasting.

No understanding of Japanese popular culture is complete without some knowledge of the use of numbers by the Japanese. Thomas Crump's meticulous exploration of the cultural roots of these attitudes makes this book essentialfor students of anthropology and Japanese studies.

Mathematics, Education and Society

Christine Keitel, P. Damerow, A. Bishop, P. Gerdes (Editores)

6.º International Congress on Mathematical Education (1988 : Budapest, Hungary)

Unesco Document Series Nº. 35

Unesco | 1989 | 200 páginas | pdf | 23,61 Mb

on-line: unesdoc.unesco.org

Table of Contents 
Mathematics, Education, and Society (MES) . . . 1 
Mathematics Education and Culture . . . . . 1 
Social History of Mathematics Education . . . . . 1 
Arpad Szabd: Mathematics and Dialectics.. . . . 2 
Ahmed Djebbar: The Content of Mathematics Teaching in North Africa in the Middle Ages  and its Role in Present Day Teaching.. . . 3 
John Fauvel: Should We Bring Back the Mathematical Practitioner? Learning From the  Social History of Mathematics Education in the British Renaissance.. . 4 
Gert Schubring: Theoretical Categories for Investigations in the Social History of Mathematics Education and Some Characteristic Patterns . . 6 
Cultural Diversity and Conflicts in Mathematics Education 
Terezinha Nunes Carraher: Material Embodiments of Mathematics Models  in Everyday Life 
Lloyd Dawe: Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Village Schools of the South Pacific
Murad Jurdak: Religion and Language as Cultural Carriers and Barriers in Mathematics Education
Claudia Zaslavsky: Integrating Mathematics With the Study of Cultural Traditions 
The Cultural Role of Mathematics Education in the Future
Leone Burton: Mathematics as a Cultural Experience: Whose Experience? 
Desmond Broomes: The Mathematical Demands of a Rural Economy 
Kathryn Crawford: Knowing What Versus Knowing How: The Need for a Change in Emphasis for Minority Group Education in Mathematics 
Philip J. Davis: Applied Mathematics as Social Contract 
Rik Pinxten: World View and Mathematics Teaching.
Society and Institutionalized Mathematics Education . 30 
Mathematics as a Cultural Product. 
Jens Hoyrup: On Mathematics and War 
George Ghevarghcse Joseph: Eurocentrism in Mathematics: The Historical Dimensions  
Sam O. Ale: Mathematics in Rural Societies  
Leo Rogers: The Cultural History of Mathematics as a Basis for Philosophies of Mathematics Education 
The Image of Mathematics in Society 
Gilah C. Leder: The Image of Mathematics in Society: A Case Study 
Stephen Lerman: A Social View of Mathematics-Implications for Mathematics Education 
Chandler Davis: A Hippocratic Oath for Mathematicians?
Sociology of Institutionalized Mathematics.
Eduard Glas: Social Determinants of Mathematical Change: The Ecole Polytechnique 1794-1809
Renate Tobies: The Activities of Felix Klein in the Teaching Commission of the 2nd Chamber of the Prussian Parliament
Emma Castelnuovo: The Teaching of Geometry in Italian High Schools During the Last Two Centuries: Some Aspects Related to Society 
Michael H. Price: Some Reflections on the Role of Associations in Mathematics Education
The Mathematics Curriculum as a Social Issue 
Michael Otte: “Mathematics for All” and the Epistemological Problems of Mathematics Education
Neil Bibby and John Abraham: Social History of Mathematical Controversies: Some Implications for the Curriculum
Bernard Charlot: Institutional and Socio-Economic Context of the “Modem Mathematics” Reform in France 
Non-School Alternatives for Mathematics Education 
John D. Volmink: Non-School Alternatives in Mathematics Education
Sixto Romero Sanchez: The Necessity of Popularizing Mathematics via Radio Programs 
Virginia Thompson: FAMILY MATH: Linking Home and Mathematics
Jeffrey T. Evans: Mathematics for Adults: Community Research and the “Barefoot Statistician” 
The Mathematical Demands of the Economy
Guida Maria Correia P. de Abreu and David William Carraher: The Mathematics of Brazilian Sugar Cane Farmers 
Wang Chang Pei: Differences in Mathematics Education Between Rural Area and Urban Area in China..
Howard Russell: The Generic Skills Economic Dcvelopmcnt Project: The Mathematical Demands of the Economy 
Bemhelm Boo&Bavnbck and Glen Pate: Expanding Risk in Technological Society Through Progress in Mathematical Modeling 
Mathematics Education Under Different Cultural Constraints
Siaka Bamba Kanti: Critical Issues of Mathematics Education in the Ivory Coast
Jens Naumann: Practical Aspects of Basic Mathematics Teaching in Senegalese Villages
Diana C. Rosenberg: Knowledge Transfer From one Culture to Another: HEWET From the Netherlands to Argentina
Munir Fasheh: Mathematics in a Social Context: Math Within Education as Praxis Versus Within Education as Hegemony.
Society as a Source of Ideas for Mathematics Teaching
Brian Hudson: Global Perspectives in the Mathematics Classroom
Tadasu Kawaguchi: Mathematical Thoughts Being Latent in Various Artistic Activities
Diana Schultz: PRIMITl-Projects in Real-Life Integrated Mathematics in Teacher Education
Joop van Dormolen: Values of Texts for Learning Mathematics for Real Life
How Autonomous is the Mathematics Teacher?.
Dianne E. Siemon: How Autonomous is the Teacher of Mathematics?
Paul Ernest: The Impact of Beliefs on the Teaching of Mathematics
Kurt Kreith: The Recruitment and Training of Master Teachers
John Suffolk: The Role of the Mathematics Teacher in Developing Countries
Ethnomathematics and Schools
Gloria F. Gilmer: World-wide Developments in Ethnomathematics 
Randall Souviney: The Indigenous Mathematics Project: Mathematics Instruction in Papua New Guinnea 
Eduardo Sebastiani Ferreira: The Genetic Principle and the Ethnomathematics
Social Needs and Reforms in Mathematics Education 
Feiyu Cao: School Mathematics Education Should Suit the Needs of Social Development
Fidel Oteiza and Nadja Antonijevic: On the Light of Present and Future Needs, are we Teaching the Proper Mathematics? The Case of Chile
Teresa Smart and Zelda Isaacson: “It was Nice Being Able to Share Ideas”: Women Learning Mathematics. 
George Malaty: ICMI and the Crisis of Mathematics Education: What Kind of Reform is Needed? 
Educational Institutions and the Individual Learner 
Individual and Social Learning Motivations
Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont and Maria-Luisa Schubauer-Leoni: The Social Construction of Meaning in Math Class Interactions
Timothy E. Erickson: Cooperative Learning in Mathematics: A Way to Engage All Students 
Albrecht Abele: Socialization and Learning Mathematics 
Cultural Influences on Learning 
Analucia Dias Schliemann and Nadja Maria Acioly: Numbers and Operations in Everyday Problem Solving .
Frederick K. S. Leung: The Chinese Culture and Mathematics Learning 
Martin R. Hoffman and Arthur B. Powell: Mathematical and Commentary Writing: Vehicles for Student Reflection and Empowerment.
Are Girls Underprivileged Around the World? 
Gila Hanna: Girls and Boys About Equal in Mathematics Achievement in Eighth Grade: Results From Twenty Countries
Erika Kuendiger: Mathematics-A Male Subject?!
Frank J. Swetz: Cross-Cultural Insights Into the Question of Male Superiority in Mathematics: Some Malaysian Findings
Societal Determinants of Learning
Joan Bliss, Ruffina Guttierez, Vasilios Koulaidis, Jon Ogbom, and Haralambos N. Sakonidis: A Cross-Cultural Study of Children’s Ideas About What is ReaZly True in Four Curricula Subjects: Science, Religion, History, and Mathematics 
Gustav Adolf Liircher: Learning Mathematics in a Foreign Language
Ali Rejali: Lack of Interest of Students for Studying Mathematics 
Bemd Zimmermann: Mathematics for All and Teaching the Gifted
The Social Arena of the Mathematics Classroom
Josette Adda: The Mathematics Classroom as a Microsociety
Tom Cooper: Negative Power, Hegemony, and the Primary Mathematics Classroom: A Summary
Andrea L. Petitto: The Structure of Mathematical Discourse Among Teachers and Children in Elementary School .
Terry Wood: Whole-Class Interaction as the Negotiation of Social Contexts Within Which to Construct Mathematical Knowledge
Learning Under Difficult Conditions 
Marilyn Frankenstein and Arthur B. Powell: Mathematics Education and Society: Empowering Non-Traditional Students 
FranCoise Cerquetti-Aberkane: Teaching Mathematics in Special Classes for Children With Serious Difficulties in France.
Nick Taylor: “Let Them Eat Cake”-Desire, Cognition, and Culture in Mathematics Learning.. . Mathematics Education in Multi-Cultural Contexts 
Raymond A. Zepp: New Direction in Research on Language in Mathematics 
Ina Kurth: Learning Mathematics in a Foreign Language
Helen Watson: Mathematics Education From a Bicultural Point of View
Norma C. Presmeg: Mathematics Education and Cultural Continuity
Ethnomathematical Practices.
Salimata Doumbia: Mathematics in Traditional African Games
Sergio Roberto Nobre: The Ethnomathematics of the Most Popular Lottery in Brazil: The “Animal Lottery” .
Nigel Langdon: Cultural Starting Points
Social Construction of Mathematical Meaning
Paul Cobb: Children’s Construction of Arithmetical Knowledge in Social Context 
Ema Yackel: The Negotiation of Social Context for Small-Group Problem Solving in Mathematics 
Stieg Mellin-Olsen: Creative Uses of Mathematics in Social Contexts
Jean-Franeois Perret: The Meaning of Mathematical Tasks for Pupils and Teachers 
Jan Waszkiewicz and Agnieszka Wojciechowska: The Future Cultural Role of Mathematics and its Impact on Math Education
Mathematics Education in the Global Village.
Hearing I: Which and Whose Interests are Served by Mathematics Education?
Hearing 2: How Does Mathematics Education Relate to Destructive Technological Developments?
Hearing 3: Do Mathematics Educators Know What they are Doing?
Hearing 4: What are the Challenges for ICMI in the Next Decade? 
Hearing 5: What can we Expect From Ethnomathematics?

Radical Equations Math Literacy and Civil Rights

Robert P. Moses, Charles E. Cobb Jr

Beacon Press | 2001| 233 páginas | PDF | 1,4 MB

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Referência em: MathEduc

They seem like unrelated concepts: civil rights and math literacy; Freedom Summer and the Algebra Project. When the individual who links them is Bob Moses, however, the unanticipated connections are worth exploring. Moses was a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee organizer in Mississippi in the 1960s. In part 1, he discusses the lessons of that experience, particularly involving the entire community and defining a goal (in Mississippi, voting rights) that empowers the community to address its other needs. In the twenty-first century, Moses argues, "the most urgent social issue affecting poor people and people of color is economic access . . . [and] economic access and full citizenship depend crucially on math and science literacy." For two decades, Moses and his associates have been developing an approach to middle-school math aimed at preparing every child for high-school and then college mathematics. Part 2 of Radical Equations traces that effort, its experiential pedagogy, and its application in urban and rural school districts. A surprising study of continuity and change in the struggle to reduce inequality and empower communities.

Mathematics and War

Bernhelm Booss-Bavnbek, Jens Høyrup

Birkhauser | 2003 | 416 páginas | djvu

link direto
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Referência em: MathEduc

Mathematics has for centuries been stimulated, financed and credited by military purposes. Some mathematical thoughts and mathematical technology have also been vital in war. During World War II mathematical work by the Anti-Hitler coalition was part of an aspiration to serve humanity and not help destroy it. At present, it is not an easy task to view the bellicose potentials of mathematics in a proper perspective. The book presents historical evidence and recent changes in the interaction between mathematics and the military. It discusses the new mathematically enhanced development of military technology which seems to have changed the very character of modern warfare.

Para vários textos de Horup, aceda à página do autor: http://akira.ruc.dk/~jensh/

Opening the Research Text Critical Insights and In(ter)ventions into Mathematics Education

Mathematics Education Library, Vol. 46
Elizabeth de Freitas; Kathleen Nolan, (Eds.)

Springer | 2008 | 256 páginas | PDF | 1,64 MB

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Referência em: MathEduc

The provocative contributions to Opening the Research Text reflect current interest in the political and cultural underpinnings of mathematics education. With 22 contributors including both established researchers and newcomers, this innovative research-oriented volume challenges traditional theories and "comforting narratives" of pedagogy through realistic, non-linear scenarios reflecting the ambiguities and power relationships of the classroom. By alternating research chapters with inventive responses (including poetry, concept mapping, graphic novel, and collage), the editors present theoretical as well as practice-based possibilities in areas as diverse as arts-based inquiry and social justice pedagogy, all in relation to mathematics education. These multiple calls to action will inspire readers to:

Rethink the accessibility and impact of their classroom work.

Consider the value of poststructuralist strategies to curriculum theory.Explore alternate research paradigms in mathematics education.Trace the intersections of power, economics and mathematics.Critically examine the discourse of school mathematics and policy documents.Engage in self-study, writing their own stories of insight and in(ter)vention.

Opening the Research Text asks teachers, researchers and scholars to add to the dialogue that is transforming the mathematics education field, and leads new educators toward insights into their careers and the students and communities they serve. Additionally, the book can be a primary graduate or supplementary undergraduate text in education or mathematics education.