The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers

The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers
The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers  
Cover
Cover of the first edition
Author(s) David Wells
Country UK
Language English
Subject(s) Recreational mathematics, elementary number theory
Publisher Penguin Books
Publication date 1986
Media type Print (paperback)
Pages 229 pp (first edition)
ISBN ISBN 0-14-008029-5

The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers is a reference book for recreational mathematics and elementary number theory written by David Wells. The first edition was published in paperback by Penguin Books in 1986 in the UK, and a revised edition appeared in 1997 (ISBN 0-14-026149-4).

Contents

Contents

The entries are arranged in increasing order of magnitude, with the exception of the first entry on −1 and i. The book includes some irrational numbers below 10 but concentrates on integers, and has an entry for every integer up to 42 (although the entry for 39 states, "This appears to be the first uninteresting number"). The final entry is for Graham's number.

In addition to the dictionary itself, the book includes a list of mathematicians in chronological sequence (all born before 1890), a short glossary, and a brief bibliography. The back of the book contains eight short tables "for the benefit of readers who cannot wait to look for their own patterns and properties", including lists of polygonal numbers, Fibonacci numbers, prime numbers, factorials, decimal reciprocals of primes, factors of repunits, and lastly the prime factorization and the values of the functions φ(n), d(n) and σ(n) for the first hundred integers. The book concludes with a conventional, alphabetical index.

Reviews

In a review of several books in The College Mathematics Journal, Brian Blank described it as "a charming and interesting book",[1] and the Chicago Tribune described the revised edition as "a fascinating book on all things numerical".[2] By contrast, Christopher Hirst called it "a volume which none but propeller-heads will find either curious or interesting" in a review of another book in The Independent.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Blank, Brian (2001). "Book Review". The College Mathematics Journal 32 (2): 155–160. JSTOR 2687125. 
  2. ^ "Reader's Guide. New in Paperback.". Chicago Tribune. 14 June 1998. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/30167107.html?dids=30167107:30167107&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+14%2C+1998&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune. Retrieved 2 June 2010. 
  3. ^ Hirst, Christopher (18 December 1997). "Thursday's Book: The Book of Numbers by William Hartston". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/thursdays-book-the-book-of-numbers-by-william-hartston-1289367.html. Retrieved 2 June 2010. 

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