Hugo Steinhaus (1887–1972)

For more than forty years, readers have turned to this book for an introduction to mathematical concepts. Using striking photographs and diagrams, H. Steinhaus ingeniously explains mathematical phenomena, beginning with simple puzzles and games and moving to more advanced problems. Now available for the first time on paperback, this edition contains the full text of the revised and enlarged Third American Edition and a new preface by Professor Morris Kline of New York University.
In show more presenting this book to the reader, I should like to avoid the misunderstanding that any mathematician risk when he addresses himself to non-specialists. My purpose is neither to teach, in the usual sense of the word, nor to amuse the reader with some charades. One fine summer day it happened that I was asked this question: ""You claim to be a mathematician; well, what does one do all day when one is a mathematician?"" We were seated in a park, my questioner and I, and I tried to explain to him a few geometric problems, solved and unsolved, using a stick to draw on the gravel pathway a Jordan curve, or a Peano curve... That was how I conceived this book, in which the sketches, diagrams, and photographs provide a direct language and allow proofs to be avoided or at least reduced to a minimum. show less

Se un matematico come Steinhaus parla di problemi matematici "elementari", potete essere certi che non lo dice nel senso di "facili". Questo vecchio libretto raccoglie cento problemi che non richiedono conoscenze a livello universitario per essere risolti, ma non sono certo facili. La maggior parte di essi erano (e in buona parte sono ancora) poco noti, il che è piacevole per chi come me legge molti libri di problemi; poi c'è anche il tocco finale di una dozzina abbondante di problemi show more finali senza risposta, e senza che necessariamente la risposta fosse nota a Steinhaus stesso, che possono dare al lettore con un buon background matematico un' idea di cosa sia effettivamente il lavoro di un matematico. L'unica pecca è la prosa: Steinhaus aveva scritto il libretto in polacco, e la traduzione inglese è piuttosto pesante da leggere. show less

Indeholder "1. Triangles, Squares, and Games", "2. Rectangles, Numbers, and Tunes", "3. Weighing, Measuring, and Fair Division", "4. Tessellations, Mixing of Liquids, Measuring Areas and Lengths", "5. Shortest Paths, Locating Schools, and Pursuing Ships", "6. Straight Lines, Circles, Symmetry, and Optical Illusions", "7. Cubes, Spiders, Honeycombs, and Bricks", "8. Platonic Solids, Crystals, Bee's Heads, and Soap", "9. Soap-Bubbles, Earth and Moon, Maps, and Dates", "10. Squirrels, Screws, show more Candles, Tunes, and Shadows", "11. Surfaces Made of Straight Lines, the Chain, the Toycart, and the Minimal Surface", "12. Platonic Bodies Again, Crossing Bridges, Tying Knots, Coloring Maps, and Combing Hair", "13. Board of Fortune, Frogs, Freshmen, and Sunflowers", "Notes", "Index".

"1. Triangles, Squares, and Games" handler om blandt andet et bord i fire dele, der er hængslet, så man kan lave både et trekantet og et rektangulært bord.???
"2. Rectangles, Numbers, and Tunes" handler om ???
"3. Weighing, Measuring, and Fair Division" handler om ???
"4. Tessellations, Mixing of Liquids, Measuring Areas and Lengths" handler om fliselægning, der dækker hele planen. Og hvordan man måler arealer og længder.
"5. Shortest Paths, Locating Schools, and Pursuing Ships" handler om at placere punkter, så fx tre cowboys can overvåge en flok kvæg uden at nogen af dem får en loppetjans.
"6. Straight Lines, Circles, Symmetry, and Optical Illusions" handler om ???
"7. Cubes, Spiders, Honeycombs, and Bricks" handler om ???
"8. Platonic Solids, Crystals, Bee's Heads, and Soap" handler om ???
"9. Soap-Bubbles, Earth and Moon, Maps, and Dates" handler om ???
"10. Squirrels, Screws, Candles, Tunes, and Shadows" handler om ???
"11. Surfaces Made of Straight Lines, the Chain, the Toycart, and the Minimal Surface" handler blandt andet om afviklerkurver.
"12. Platonic Bodies Again, Crossing Bridges, Tying Knots, Coloring Maps, and Combing Hair" handler om ???
"13. Board of Fortune, Frogs, Freshmen, and Sunflowers" handler om ???
"Notes" handler om ???
"Index" er et opslagsregister

H. Steinhaus har samlet lidt matematiske pudsigheder op. Og tanken er vist egentlig bare at vise noget om hvad matematikere er for nogle størrelser. show less