Famous Problems and Their Mathematicians

Art Johnson

• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
• Year: 1999
• eBook ISBN: 9780313078958
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Why did ordering an omelet cost one mathematician his life? Answers to this and other questions are found in this exciting new resource that shows your students how 60 mathematicians discovered mathematical solutions through everyday situations. These lessons are easily incorporated into the present curriculum as an introduction to a math concept, a homework piece, or an extra challenge. Teacher notes and suggestions for the classroom are followed by extension problems and additional background material. This is a great way to spark student interest in math. Grades 5-12.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Introduction
• Bibliography
• Time Line
• Mathematics by Accident
• Leave No Problem Unsolved
• Mary Boole’s Cards
• A Very Important Date
• A Rediscovery Leads to Fame
• A Promising Career Cut Short
• There It Lies
• Alice and Mathematics
• π in the Sky
• A Mathematician Exposed
• Man Versus Machine
• Timing Is Everything
• The Number Sifter
• The Perfect Child
• The Blockhead
• The Man Who Loved Numbers
• The Search Continues
• A Difficult Childhood
• The Misunderstood Mathematician
• A Victim of the Times
• Numbers with Personality
• The Greatest “Could-Have-Been” in the History of Mathematics
• Less Is More
• Too Good to Be True
• Math in the Mind’s Eye
• Mathematics Pathways
• Being Second Doesn’t Count
• Can It Be True?
• Head in the Clouds
• Measuring the Earth
• Mathematical Giants
• Mathematics to Pass the Time
• Playing It Safe
• The Puzzle King
• The Unknown Mathematicians
• Sleeping In Has Its Benefits
• Mathematical Rhymes
• The World’s Most Expensive Math Lesson
• It’s All in the Signs
• The Unschooled Mathematician
• The Most Learned Scholar of His Time
• A Puzzling Will
• One Fine Day
• Ahead of His Time
• An Apple Makes Mathematics
• The Mysterious Mathematician
• The Witch of Agnesi
• “Let No One Ignorant of Geometry Enter Here!”
• The Disappointed Daughter
• Unfulfilled Promise
• The Artist As Mathematician
• To the Highest Bidder
• Great Potential
• Mathematics As a Religion
• The Lineup
• The Politician As Mathematician
• The Poet As Mathematician
• Receiving Credit for Another's Work
• The Family Man
• The Prince of Amateurs
• The Silver Lining
• Index
• About the Author