For the love of Math,
Stewart have spent years collecting Math games, stories, and mini-what-not's
that he found interesting and challenging. I have learned that this was the
reason for the catchy title. He has filled his cabinet with all
interesting maths he has collected.
Among all the topics
covered by his collection, it includes geometry, logic, probability, and more.
I really salute him for putting such effort in collecting most of the contents
of the book, which he started since when he was only fourteen. This Math
professor sure embodies the true meaning of 'dedication' and 'passion.'
Math is indeed fun (now, I somehow agree)! And yes, this was very evident in
the book. The starting riddle was so cool, it made me crave for more. It was my
first time to have encountered this kind of a read. I can't believe one had managed to put fun and Mathematics in one book. However, I just have to say
that Stewart's warning in the 'introduction' part was really true. You should
not expect a great revelation or a discovery of some sort from this book, for
this is only for the sake of fun and a lot of quirky knowledge.
"Sometimes people see the light when the problem
is taken to extremes." - Ian
Stewart, page 297 of Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
I like the quote
above that I took from the book. Indeed when people think like there seems to
be no way out anymore when they are attacked with tricky problems, they would
later on realize that a little more push can lead to a disguised route out of
the vicious dilemma. They would have to eventually come to a point where they
would think the game's almost over; only to know that it's only just beginning.
A person can finish
this book in one sitting or one can read it in parts - it actually depends on
the person, given that it contains no fixed and clear organization (a really
very spontaneous and an undemanding book). It was arranged in a way that
enables you to get a clear view of different topics. There were no conclusions
nor morals that can be taken from the book after reading it. The only agenda
was to present how Math can both be fun and challenging at the same time, to
let the readers appreciate it more. Some people might like this attribute of
the book, while others might not and hope for more. Some parts were not that
important that you can just skip it, but there were also parts where you'd
really want to take notes for you to remember or if you're challenged to solve
a particular problem given. I like it that there are some answers that can be
found in the back, it helped me re-read and understand the problem more
clearly. Hmm, I did not try to solve all the puzzles and games in the book, but
I think I did get some right. Haha. And also, I admit I skipped some parts, but
delved into a lot as well.
This book is full of
humor, it even includes real-life situations like; math games and trivias
involved when listening to the MP3 or even during birthdays. This is generously
filled with mini-mathematical text adventures particularly like puzzles,
riddles, paradoxes, trivias, facts and jokes, which Stewart defined as
'curiosities.' The fun subtitles were also too witty not to notice.
Stewart made sure
that all his collections were presented in a kind of way a reader wouldn't be
killed out of boredom. There were some helpful explanations of theorems that
can be found, too. Some of the known Math theorems/problems mentioned and
tackled in the book include; Fermat's last theorem, the Poincaire conjecture,
the chaos theory, four color theorem, the P=NP problem, and more. Stewart also
mentioned the Konigsberg bridges and the problem it has carried with it - if
there's a path through the city where the bridges are located in which case
each bridge can only be included once.
Luckily, this book
was made for us to understand. Stewart tried his best to put everything in
layman's terms and even explained why the problems and theorems interested him,
so that we'll appreciate it even more even though at the moment, we only have a
little knowledge of the rest of what he was tackling about. Moreover, he also
offered some of his original Math works, there's two that I can remember: he
described the steps on how to create a pop-up dodecahedron and stated the real
reason why we can't divide anything by zero. There are weird stuff (for me)
from the book that made it more fun. Before I forget, he also mentioned Gauss - one
of the greatest mathematicians who lived.
My favorite problem (partly because it's somehow easy compared to the
other questions, haha) from the book was:
What positive integer
is equal to its own Scrabble score when spelled out in full?
The answer?
Twelve :)
Also, I like another
quote (as seen below) from the book that makes sense and means something when
put to heart and even analyzed. It's true that when we forecast the next things
that are supposed to or we think will happen, it tends to disrupt the system,
as the rules don't always follow or abide to the flow of the forecast and the
scenario of the system beforehand. To avoid this chaos in the system, the forecast(s)
for the next state of the system must not only be limited by rules. Other
factors must also be considered.
"So what makes a system chaotic, or not, is
the rule for forecasting its next state. Some rules exaggerate errors, some filter
them out." - Ian
Stewart, page 120 of Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
This book is a light
read, but at the same time, never fails to challenge you somehow. I admire how
Stewart has written and composed this one, given that his style may be mistaken
as boring and plain, but when you actually really give it a chance and take
time to truly appreciate it, you'd see how dedicated he is and how he really
enjoys Math more than anything else. After devouring (not literally) the book,
I was amazed, amused, challenged, curious - all at the same time. My time was
not wasted. It sure was well-spent!
This book can and
should be experienced by anyone coming from any walk of life. I highly
recommend this book, because it's a fun and an effective way to get someone into
Math. I've looked for the price, and this book is not that expensive, so if I
were to buy a book and was able to see this in the bookstore, I'll surely give
it a try. Math, as presented by Stewart through this book, can be applied to a
lot of things involved in reality, and it can offer more entertainment than
you'd ever expect, if given the right twists and turns (which make it fun). A
person should discover how something so complex and complicated can be viewed
in a whole new perspective, involving a bit of fun and more for the sake of
knowledge, to learn more effectively.
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