bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys) (03/05/86)
In article <12180@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) writes: > In article <443@cubsvax.UUCP> winston@cubsvax.UUCP (Ken Winston) writes: > A very readable account is in F Acton _Numerical Methods That Work_, > chapters 1 and 12. Not only is it a good book (although be warned that > some of his *particular* comments about certain methods are no longer > valid--old methods get revived a lot in numerical analyis), it is the > only numerical analysis book that makes it clear that THINKING is the > most important technique for solving numerical problems on computers. > It is also the FUNNIEST math book ever written. I share Matthew Wiener's enthusiasm for Acton, but would disagree on his choice of "funniest math book". My nomination would be _Mathematics Made Difficult_, by Carl E. Linderholm. The title says it all. I don't know if it is still in print. -- Glend. I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hot. Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? -- Henry IV Pt. I, III, i, 53 Bill Jefferys 8-% Astronomy Dept, University of Texas, Austin TX 78712 (USnail) {allegra,ihnp4}!{ut-sally,noao}!utastro!bill (UUCP) bill@astro.UTEXAS.EDU. (Internet)
weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) (03/07/86)
In article <470@utastro.UUCP> bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys) writes: >I share Matthew Wiener's enthusiasm for Acton, but would disagree on >his choice of "funniest math book". My nomination would be _Mathematics >Made Difficult_, by Carl E. Linderholm. The title says it all. I don't >know if it is still in print. I forgot about Linderholm completely! My copy was stolen years ago. Another funny math book is Joseph Diestel _Sequences and Series in Banach Spaces_. Incidentally, it's the first book I've seen that makes abstract Banach space theory seem exciting and relevant. C[0,1] has a basis. This is of interest--NOT because it registers C[0,1] as a member of the "basis club," but because C[0,1] plays .... (page 35) Grothendieck's generalization spent some years in surprising anonymity, although it appeared in his widely ignored Sao Paulo lecture notes .... (page 119) It is now time for a rare treat--an application of sociology to mathematics. (page 194) ucbvax!brahms!weemba Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (03/07/86)
> I share Matthew Wiener's enthusiasm for Acton, but would disagree on > his choice of "funniest math book". My nomination would be _Mathematics > Made Difficult_, by Carl E. Linderholm. The title says it all. I don't > know if it is still in print. Does anyone out there know where I can get my hands on a copy of this book?
ptodd@tekchips.UUCP (Philip Todd) (03/10/86)
> In article <470@utastro.UUCP> bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys) writes: > >I share Matthew Wiener's enthusiasm for Acton, but would disagree on > >his choice of "funniest math book". My nomination would be _Mathematics > >Made Difficult_, by Carl E. Linderholm. The title says it all. I don't > >know if it is still in print. > > I forgot about Linderholm completely! My copy was stolen years ago. > > Another funny math book is Joseph Diestel _Sequences and Series in Banach > Spaces_. Incidentally, it's the first book I've seen that makes abstract > Banach space theory seem exciting and relevant. Yet another funny maths book is Cassels' book with a title similar to "Economics for Mathematicians". Cassels is better known as a number theorist and brings a light touch to mathematical economics. Unfortunately my copy of this book belongs to the library, so I have no quotes.
mac@uvacs.UUCP (Alex Colvin) (03/12/86)
> I share Matthew Wiener's enthusiasm for Acton, but would disagree on > his choice of "funniest math book". My nomination would be _Mathematics > Made Difficult_, by Carl E. Linderholm. The title says it all. I don't > know if it is still in print. Not only is it not in print, none of the out-of-print locating services I've tried can find a copy.