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I always liked the Jeff Goldblum character in Jurassic Park,
particularly his ruminations on chaos theory. Now I learn from this new book
that his contributions to the film are but a fraction of the mathematics
contained in Michael Crichton's original novel.
A number of authors
have written of the outer reaches of mathematics - not the world of degrees and
doctorates but the regions frequently referred to as "recreational". Some even
have been known to refer to the "joy" or "fun" of such mathematics. |
These books seldom contain anything approaching fun, unless
your idea of fun is to be able to amaze your friends - if you have any - with
your ability to multiply in your head two large consecutive numbers. There are
relatively few authors - Martin Gardner chief among them - who have
successfully described the positively thought-provoking and weighty fringes of
mathematical activity. A book called "Coincidences, Chaos and All That Jazz"
was I assumed definitely to be conciled after a cursory glance to the book
shelf of bizarre title, wacky premise and tedious execution. It doesn't even
have a recommendation from Gardner on the cover, usually the absolute requisite
for any such book to be even readable let alone publishable.
What first
changed my mind about this one was the artwork. The illustrations are finely
drawn and create a tone of clarity and mystery combined. Why is a phone with
tangled cord so carefully drawn? I must read to find out. And then at random I
read more paragraphs: the coincidences linking Abraham Lincoln and John F
Kennedy and should we be surprised; how to make a tilted stack of playing cards
overhang a table as far as you like; how to get your trousers off then on again
but inside out, all while your ankles are tied together with string. Crucial
stuff.
This book is well written. One author claims to be a stand-up
comic while the other has won numerous teaching awards. Between them they
describe with obvious amusement many surprising conclusions of mathematical
thought. I found myself reading with renewed interest descriptions of the
mobius strip, the different infinities, the quincunx, cryptography, the Golden
Ratio, much of which I have read before in books by Gardner, Ian Stewart,
Douglas Hofstadter and others. This time these authors claim to be "making
light of weighty ideas" and I think they succeed even if, or maybe because, as
the index lists, they are describing the trouser-inversion trick, unknots,
dodge ball, ping pong balls, logarithms, fractals in Jurassic Park or the
rubber undies trick. They do manage to poke you into taking an interest when
before you may have dismissed it all with a so-what. They don't write to
impress you with their knowledge; instead they attempt to impress you with your
own. Now I know I am within 6 or 7 handshakes of Thomas Jefferson.
An
excellent addition to my library to put alongside Clifford A. Pickover, David
Wells, Keith Devlin, Stewart, Hofstadter and Gardner |
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