Mathematics: The Man-Made Universe

Anyone can appreciate the beauty, depth, and vitality of mathematics with the help of this highly readable text, specially developed from a college course designed to appeal to students in a variety of fields. Readers with little mathematical background are exposed to a broad range of subjects chosen from number theory, topology, set theory, geometry, algebra, and analysis. Starting with a survey of questions on weight, the text discusses the primes, the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, rationals and irrationals, tiling, tiling and electricity, probability, infinite sets, and many other topics. Each subject illustrates a significant idea and lends itself easily to experiments and problems. Useful appendices offer an overview of the basic ideas of arithmetic, the rudiments of algebra, suggestions on teaching mathematics, and much more, including answers and comments for selected exercises.