Mathematics and the Physical World

by Morris Kline

Book Overview

Kline is a first-class teacher and an able writer. . . . This is an enlarging and a brilliant book. ― Scientific American
Dr. Morris Kline has succeeded brilliantly in explaining the nature of much that is basic in math, and how it is used in science. ― San Francisco ChronicleSince the major branches of mathematics grew and expanded in conjunction with science, the most effective way to appreciate and understand mathematics...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486241041
• ISBN13: 9780486241043
• Release Date: March 1981
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Almost a Humanities Course on Mathmatics

This book is excellent! Have you ever wondered, where did math come from? What caused/ how has math to developed? If so this book will hit the nail on the head for you. Dr. Kline is fabulous in this book, he explains things very clearly and gives the reader an overview of some of the more practical uses of math. After reading this book you will look at the world with a much better understanding of how math is used in the real world. Kline also explains why math is so abstract (think of the way American schools teach math). Along with this he explains why math is so precise (due to it's being limited to using inductive reasoning only). In fact, this book is a humanities course mixed in with the practical usage of mathematics, which all add up to a brilliant text. But don't be mislead, the book is not absent of the actual equations to help you understand some of the math. It's just simplified so as to be short of a textbook on how to do mathematics. If this review is not helpful to you, or you think it could be improved please email your thoughts to: HappyReaderTrueReview@yahoo.com I want my reviews to be helpful to my fellow bookworms.

I wish this had been my physics textbook ...

I still have a hard time deciding if this is a book about math or physics, but actually, it's about both. Kline follows the history of physics beginning with the Greeks as a way to describe the evolution of mathematics up to the 20th century, and he does it brilliantly. Kline is a master teacher, and his enthusiasm for his subject is evident. This is probably the clearest writing on mathematics (and physics) that I have ever seen. His chapters on the differential and integral calculus make their basic principles understandable to anyone with a high-school mathematics education -- not an easy task. He shows how again and again through history, problems in physics led to mathematical discoveries which not only allowed the physical problems to be solved, but also advanced mathematics itself. And yet nowhere in the book is anything beyond simple algebra and geometry required to understand what he's saying. A remarkable achievement.

Mathematics and the Physical World by Morris Kline

This work is an excellent reference for the history ofmathematics. It begins describing some ancient numberingsystems. i.e. The Hindus utilized negative numbers. There wasan evolution in geometry. The development and refinement ofcurves were set forth into equations. Newton's laws wereformulated . i.e. F= MAThe motion of projectiles evolved into the use of the sine andcosine to describe curvilinear motion. The laws of gravity,motion and oscillations were refined further into a multiplicity of uses in mathematics and theoretical physics. Many of the fundamentallaws and processes of the earlier mathematics have evolved intoimportant applications in theoretical and practical engineering.Examples are Newton's Laws, the Bernoulli equations and a hostof other scientific achievements.

A Journey In Time

What a journey! This book will never age with time. A must read for those interested in the humanistic value of a subject concider cold and forbiding by some who are disallusioned about what mathematics really is and its purpose in the history of mankind. A book that could only have been written by Morris Kline,an educator who saw the beauty of the subject. I can say no more.

Still the BEST basic review of Applied Mathematics..

This book is geared to the general reader who has a cursory knowledge of mathematics. The chapters are organized around physical phenomena and the math behind their explanation. The result is a charming and VERY useful book. I have the 1970 edition which is quite worn from frequent use. The chapter titled, Differential Equations - The Heart Of Analysis, is exceptionally beautiful and pertinent. Reading this book is akin to a treasure hunt. There is page after page of mathematical discovery. Reading the chapter on Motion Of Projectiles made me terribly angry at the banal way in which this topic is handled in high school texts. Things such as quadratic equations and the law of gravitation are explained very well. I sincerely believe that this book should be a required text for High School math students. Highly recommended. The Dover edition is very affordable so even if it means foregoing a meal, do it. Buy this book! Well worth your time.