Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other Mathematical Diversions

by Brian Hayes

Book Overview

Brian Hayes is one of the most accomplished essayists active today--a claim supported not only by his prolific and continuing high-quality output but also by such honors as the National Magazine Award... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809052199
• ISBN13: 9780809052196
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Hill & Wang
• Length: 269 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A little gem, shame about the title

As a mathematician I am frequently given popular books about mathematics as gifts, but most of these aren't interesting to me. Usually they cover topics that are already very familiar to me, and frequently they aim to "blind the reader with science" about topics in pure mathematics that are difficult to connect to the real world in a very convincing way. And frankly, as an applied mathematician, it's disappointing that so many mathematics popularizers fixate so much on prime numbers, Fermat's last theorem and other frippery. This book has none of these flaws, and it is one I would have happily received as a gift. It's a fascinating collection of essays about applied and computational mathematics. Brian Hayes has chosen topics that haven't been beaten to death by other authors, and written thoughtful pieces about all of them. Stand-out chapters for me included the chapter on coming up with an algorithm for computing the location of the watershed in a terrain, and an essay tracing the succession of failed attempts to solve the genetic code. The watershed chapter is great, because the author describes how he tried to solve the problem over the course of a vacation without access to a library to see what the "right answer" is, and he records his missteps and failed attempts to come up with an algorithm. It's a great glimpse at how problem-solving works: so few mathematicians are prepared to let you in on the process including the failed attempts that allowed them to build their elegant structure, be it a proof, algorithm, or solution. The level assumed of the reader is such that a college student or eager high school student would probably get a lot from the book. There are very few equations and no program code snippets, which is generally the right choice. The book is very well written: it doesn't shy from the technical details where relevant, but you never feel like you're reading a dry textbook. All of the essays have appeared in magazines before this book came out. This means that the author has already received feedback from readers about each essay, and he includes a postscript after each chapter with interesting points that arose in correspondence from readers. This means that the essays have already been checked for glaring omissions and oversights, which is great, and the additional commentary adds a lot to each chapter. But I don't like the book's title: it looks like a publisher's idea of something that will grab people's attention to make them pick the book up, but when I saw it at the bookstore I just thought "definitely trying too hard -- skip that one". (Similarly, I really wish science book publishers would stop including Einstein's name in the title of their books with the barest thread of justification: it's an excellent sign that the book is terrible.) The relevant chapter is about mattress-flipping, by the way. But in spite of that, great book. When's Brian Hayes' next collection of essays coming out?

Mathematics with a dry wit...

A most informative book. Hayes is one of those unusual people who are constantly wondering why things work, and why things are the way they are. The book is composed of 12 different essays, which were originally published in "American Scientist" magazine, each with its own epilogue (afterthoughts), which is often the response he receives from readers, but also includes reflections on his own developments since the piece was first published. The essays are written for people with a scientific background, yet despite the profusion of equations on the top half of the cover, the reader is exposed to them in "bite size" pieces, and the author is adept at explaining the concepts in ordinary English. The range of topics is broad, thus there are likely to be two or three that push the "hot button" of the inquisitive mind. He starts in Strasbourg, where there is a "clock of ages," in the cathedral, that is not only Y2K (remember that!) compliant, but Y10K compliant. Yes, a clock accurate for 10,000 years, including calculations for the date of Easter - and there is not a bit of electronics in the clock; it is all done with gears. His droll insights into the difficulties of predicting the future are aptly stated by: "For all I know, some future generation will thank us for burning up all that noxious petroleum and curse us for exterminating the smallpox virus." His next chapter is on the difficulties of obtaining truly random numbers. The third chapter attempts to examine the old axiom that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" in analytically terms, and as he admits in the afterthoughts, it is actually the disparity between the rich and poor that seems to grow. I'll admit that the chapter on the genetic code was "beyond me," and I eventually lost interest, however the next chapter on the statistics of deadly quarrels (war) is most illuminating. Likewise, living near the Continental Divide, I found his chapter on the mathematical determination of same to be most informative. There was a chapter on determining the number of teeth in gears that did not particularly "click," but was redeemed by the next one entitled "The Easiest Hard Problem," which resonated with many a childhood: how do you fairly determine teams in "pick-up." "Naming Names" was also fascinating, examining the available names left under existing schematics for Internet country codes, chemical elements, stock ticker symbols, radio call signs and airport codes. Numbers that are defined by the base three sounds like a soporific topic but Hayes wit and insights revive it with such sub-headings as "Martha Stewart's File Cabinet." The penultimate chapter deals with the philosophical implications of the "equals" sign. The final chapter supplies the basis for the title; Hayes manages to maintain his books "G" rating though. The sexual allusion remains only that; the subject is the best mathematical way of flipping one's mattress, and I'd settle for the proposed mnemonic: "Spin in th

Math Applied To Some Everyday Things

This delightful book takes a playful look at some interesting and unusual ways that math can be applied. Much more than puzzles, each of the 12 chapters examine a particular everyday object or action in ways that are easy to understand and give more depth to some of the discoveries made along the way. An easy and enjoyable read for the curious of all ages. Complemented by an extensive section for those who want to do a deeper dive on the magic and mystery of how math can explain how some everyday things work.

Excellent Book on Perspective and Framing Problems

This is an excellent collection of thought-provoking essays related to mathematics. Brian Hayes covers a wide array of topics through the lens of mathematics in an engaging, thought-provoking and entertaining manner. The essays contained in this book, addressing topics such as the genetic code, the Continental Divide and randomness, among other topics, vary widely in subject matter, but share a common underlying theme. Specifically, each of these essays asks the reader to examine "things," such as the genetic code, from a unique perspective. Moreover, Hayes pulls the reader through a thoughtful and insightful problem framing approach that has broad applications across many disciplines. I found the content and style across each essay to be first-rate. This book teaches the reader many things...most importantly, I feel it offers rare insight into the power of shifting perspective and framing problems.

Extremely Interesting Even for Math-a-phobics

If you liked the book "Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything" (which I loved), there is a good chance you will like this one too. The author may have screwed-up giving it the title he did and by adding "and Other Mathematical Diversions", as it may put off or scare off a lot of people who would find it enjoyable. One would be hard pressed to find a mathematical equation anywhere in the book. Take for instance the first chapter, "Clock of Ages", on the astronomical clock located in the Strasbourg Cathedral, in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. Though the current version of the clock dates from 1843, not only was it designed to be Y2K compliant, it is also Y10K functional, designed to directly display the current year up to 9999 and the only revision needed to make it correct for subsequent years would be to paint the number "1" to the left of the display. It will continue to display such events as the correct date for Easter even in the year 19999 (Easter falls on April 3rd in 11842). Though solely a mechanical device, the gears of the clock were designed to be accurate to an error of less than one second per century. There is a gear in the clock that turns only once every 2,500 years and the celestial sphere out in front of the clock will complete one full precessional cycle after the passage of 25,806 years. After his discussion of the beauty of the design of this clock, the author then takes up a philosophical discussion of time, asking if anyone will still care what date Easter will be in 11842, or even if we will still be counting in years of the Common Era. The second chapter, "Follow the Money", demonstrates how through even an entirely random process, wealth tends to become concentrated in the hands of a few people, even in a fair system. The remaining chapters are similarly varied and all are interesting. A great book with a wide variety of interesting subjects and an engaging, erudite writing style.