Monday, October 11, 2010

What if I *don't* feel like a math book?

Vila, Cristobal(2010).Nature by Numbers. www.etereastudios.com

A picture is worth a thousand words, and it's worth a million words
if it's accompanied by cool music. Numbers are the basis of the orderly
patterns that make nature and music beautiful. Sit back, relax, and have a listen to
~~~NATURE BY NUMBERS~~~.


Lasky, Kathryn & Hawkes, Kevin.(1994)The librarian who measured the earth. Hong Kong:Little, Brown and company.

Treat yourself to a visit to ancient Greece via this gorgeously illustrated peek into the life of the man who wondered how big the world was. Who would have thought the answer would be at the bottom of a deep well? You don't have to know how to do what Eratosthenes did to appreciate the role creativity, dedication, and resourcefulness played in his quest for an amazingly accurate answer.

Sure! Have anything in the comic book line?

The Math Forum.(2004). Dr. Math Explains Algebra.Hoboken:John Wiley and sons

Here is your answer if you're wondering if an algebra text could be a graphic novel. Jessica Wolk-Stanley supplies illustrations of Arturo and friends on their quest for understanding, and "Dr. Math" supplies the super-hero. Time after time, Arturo's "Dear Abby"-style letters to Dr. Math receive a kindly and thorough unraveling of what had formerly been a mathematical mystery.


Lichtman, Wendy(2007).Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra.NY:HarperCollins Publishers

Tess' theoretical musings are accompanied by whimsical sketches from her math notebook, so even if you don't like math as well as Tess does, you'll be "drawn" into her world of numbers. Like Colin Singleton, hero of An Abundance of Katherines, Tess uses the language of math to organize her thoughts about the people in her world, from the hyper-to-the-fifth-power friend, to those who live in the inside or outside of the circle in the "have been kissed" Venn diagram. Unlike Colin, Tess thinks she has has her Algebra of Life pretty well figured out. There's nothing like a moral dilemma or two, however, to expose the inequality in a system of equalities. Tess must keep some big secrets while she tries to figure out what to do next.

More math, please.

Green, John(2006).An Abundance of Katherines. NY:Dutton Books

You'll like this one if are a young person who is interested in math and reading about other young persons who are interested in math. As you know, mathematicians see and read the world as an intricate web of quantitative relationships. A theoretical mathematical model for an actual process is a powerful tool for understanding and manipulating that process. Who can blame child prodigy Colin Singleton for trying to derive some equations that can help him navigate the waters of post-being-dumped-by-a-girlfriend-named-Katherine stress disorder?