Cogwheels of the Mind: The Story of Venn Diagrams - Hardcover

Edwards, A. W. F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801874343 ISBN 13: 9780801874345

Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004

Inhaltsangabe

Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw, now mylar-sleeved. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered.; 110 pages; Physical description: xvi, 110 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm. Summary: A history about who John Venn was, why he conceived of the diagram, and the properties that lie secreted beneath such a seemingly simple mathematical object. Subjects: Venn diagrams -- Mathematical Concepts -- Logic, Symbolic and mathematical -- Logic diagrams.

Über diesen Titel

Críticas:

"Edwards arrives with this pleasing little history about who John Venn was, why he conceived of the diagram, and the properties that lie secreted beneath such a seemingly simple mathematical object... A world-class authority, Edwards... proves himself wholly accessible to anyone interested in reading about mathematics."

(Booklist)

"Deserves to become a minor classic and may well go on to make many friends for mathematics."

(Jeremy Gray Nature)

"Entertaining."

(Boston Sunday Globe)

"Edwards is a charming if earnest guide, and the many illustrations of the beautiful cogwheels will fascinate and satisfy."

(Ben Longstaff New Scientist)

"The kind of book that I can imagine giving to a wide range of readers: any junior high student would be able to follow the mathematics, and most professors would find it interesting... I found it to be a nice―if light―read, and it is well worth a look."

(Darren Glass MAA Online)

"Many excellent and graphically exciting illustrations of Venn diagrams transform what might have been a simple math book into one that shows that mathematics can generate pictures that could be considered... in the forefront of modern art."

(School Library Journal)

"Give this book to any youngster with an enquiring mind, and watch delight develop."

(John Haigh Significance)

"There is a nice balance between personal anecdotes, history, aesthetics and attention to detail... The overall result should become something of a classic."

(B. I. Henry The Physicist)

"Venn diagrams are familiar as pictorial representations of relationships among sets, and statistician Edwards discusses their development... He shows how to interlink shapes to form beautiful Venn diagrams."

(Choice)

"I heartily recommend it for readers interested in knowing more about John Venn and the geometric properties of Venn diagrams. It will also be appreciated by those interested in the process of mathematical discovery."

(Frank Ruskey American Scientist)

Reseña del editor:

Used today in spheres of life as diverse as business strategy, creative writing, medicine, computer science, and theoretical physics, Venn diagrams possess fascinating properties. The basic Venn diagram is both elegantly simple―three overlapping circles that intersect to create eight distinct areas―and conceptually innovative. Devised by English logician John Venn (1834–1923) to visually represent complex logical propositions and algebraic statements, the diagrams drew the excited interest of both scholars and the general public.

In Cogwheels of the Mind, statistician and geneticist A. W. F. Edwards provides an accessible and engaging history of the Venn diagram, its reception and evolution, and its presence in such objects and images as Christian iconography, tennis balls, and flags which provide a rich source of Venn diagrams for Edwards, including those of Switzerland, Poland, and Japan (all one-set Venn diagrams), Greenland (a two-set Venn diagram), and Maryland (a three-set device).

Edwards begins with a sketch of Venn's life, his discovery of the three-circle design while developing a series of lectures on symbolic logic at Cambridge University, and the publication of his find in an 1880 paper, and, more influentially, his 1881 book, Symbolic Logic. Edwards discusses the rival diagrammatic scheme invented by Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, who also developed a board game based on his design. The author also recreates famous Venn diagrams from history, including Winston Churchill's of 1948 depicting the mutual interests of the British Empire, a united Europe, and the English-speaking world, with the United Kingdom located at the intersection.

Edwards goes on to show how different shapes can be linked together to form artistically beautiful and mathematically important, multi-set Venn diagrams, including the author's own influential Adelaide variation. And he delineates the possibilities for expanding the analytic power of these diagrams far beyond those first appreciated by Venn. Edwards even tells readers how to draw complex Venn diagrams on a spherical surface to create "Vennis balls." For anyone interested in mathematics or its history, Cogwheels of the Mind is invaluable and compelling reading.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0801874343
• ISBN 13: 9780801874345
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128