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Elements of Mathematics takes readers on a fascinating tour that begins in elementary mathematics - but, as John Stillwell shows, this subject is not as elementary or straightforward as one might think. Not all topics that are part of today's elementary mathematics were always considered as such, and great mathematical advances and discoveries had to occur in order for certain subjects to become "elementary." Stillwell examines elementary mathematics from a distinctive twenty-first-century viewpoint and describes not only the beauty and scope of the discipline, but also its limits.
About the author
John Stillwell is professor of mathematics at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of
Reverse Mathematics: Proofs from the Inside Out (Princeton).
Summary
Elements of Mathematics takes readers on a fascinating tour that begins in elementary mathematics--but, as John Stillwell shows, this subject is not as elementary or straightforward as one might think. Not all topics that are part of today's elementary mathematics were always considered as such, and great mathematical advances and discoveries had t
Additional text
"This fascinating book by John Stillwell, an Australian mathematician who won the prestigious Chauvenet Prize, is a carefully structured and clearly written overview of a variety of ‘elementary’ mathematical topics, from number theory, computability, algebra, geometry, calculus, combinatorics, probability, and logic. . . . Specialists will enjoy it, whilst the rest of us will learn a lot."---Forbes.com
Report
"Stillwell is . . . One of the better current mathematical authors: he writes clearly and engagingly, and makes more of an effort than most to provide historical detail and a sense of how various mathematical ideas tie in with one another. . . . The features we have learned to expect from Stillwell (including, but not limited to, excellent writing) are present in [Elements of Mathematics] as well."--MAA Reviews
