Mathematical Experiences

by Professor Robert Fontenot, Mathematics

* The Mathematical Experience by Philip Davis and Reuben Hersh (1981; reprint, Houghton Mifflin, 1998). This collection of essays presents a fascinating view of various aspects of mathematics: beauty, history, philosophy, utility, and pedagogy.

* What is Mathematics? by Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 1996). This is a lucid presentation of the basic concepts, ideas, and techniques of the entire subject of mathematics.

* The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski (1974; Little, Brown & Co., 1984). This book, a companion to the PBS series with the same name, is a wonderful account of the development and history of science. It is worth reading and re-reading.

* The Common Sense of Science by Jacob Bronowski (Harvard University Press, 1981). This short book, an account of the history of science from the time of Newton to that of Einstein, aims to dispel the commonly held view that scientific thought and thought in other spheres of human experience are different.

* The Mathematical Universe by William Dunham (Wiley, John & sons, Inc., 1997). This book is well described by its subtitle: An Alphabetical Journey Through the Great Proofs, Problems, and Personalities.

* Thinking Mathematically by John Mason et al., rev. ed. (Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1985). This book, aimed at anyone who suspects that mathematical thinking surely involves more than the almost mindless following of computational rules and procedures, aims to show the reader the beauty and power of mathematical thinking by engaging him or her in doing some of that thinking on puzzles and mathematical questions accessible to the general reader.

* Aha! Aha! Insight and Aha! Gotcha by Martin Gardner (W. H. Freeman, 1978 and 1982 respectively). Martin Gardner is perhaps the foremost contemporary popularizer of mathematics. He wrote the “Mathematical Games” column in Scientific American magazine for 25 years and also published numerous books on mathematical puzzles and games. These two collections of puzzles and surprise results are at once engaging, edifying, and amusing.

Robert Fontenot, Professor of Mathematics