Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other Mathematical Diversions |  | Author: Brian Hayes
Publisher: Hill and Wang
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 175867
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0809052172
Dewey Decimal Number: 530
EAN: 9780809052172
ASIN: 0809052172
Publication Date: April 14, 2009
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Product Description
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 for his commemorative Y2K essay titled “Clock of Ages,” published in the November/December 1999 issue of The Sciences magazine. (The also-rans that year included Tom Wolfe, Verlyn Klinkenborg, and Oliver Sacks.) Hayes’s work in this genre has also appeared in such anthologies as The Best American Magazine Writing, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and The Norton Reader. Here he offers us a selection of his most memorable and accessible pieces—including “Clock of Ages”—embellishing them with an overall, scene-setting preface, reconfigured illustrations, and a refreshingly self-critical “Afterthoughts” section appended to each essay.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Little about group theory; lots about mattresses October 22, 2009
Peter Webb (Sydney Australia)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was disappointed in this book. Its title suggests that it will contain recreational mathematics, but it contains almost no mathematics at all - not a single equation. Group theory is a subject that has been covered extensively in recreational mathematics, and the author chooses to illustrate it using the symmetries of rotating a mattress. On the way, he ruminates extensively on the subject of mattresses. If you don't know what a "group" is now, after reading this book you will be none the wiser, if you do know, you will wonder why he says so little about the subject. You will learn a lot about how different manufacturers recommend you turn their matresses, but I didn't care before and still don't.
I have similar problems with the other chapters; he interweaves the theory of gear ratios in clocks with that of rational approximations (a natutal fit) but never really explains the mathematics, and instead its more of a story about how he tracked down the original historical sources of where gear ratios were first calculated ...
The chatty and informal style would have worked better in a magazine column, which is where these came from.
If you want a book about mathematics which itself contains virtually no mathematics, and you want something light and easily read, which covers a wide range of topics, sure.
If you know what a "group" is (or a continued fraction) and want to see if he brings a new twist to these old subjects, I think you will be diappointed.
 A little gem, shame about the title August 6, 2009
J. Lawry (New York, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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... May 22, 2009
John P. Jones III (Albuquerque, NM, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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 the spring, flip in the fall."
Overall, a wonderful, slightly eccentric book for the curious, and if one is looking for an off-beat topic for the next cocktail party chatter, you'd be able to find it here. Hayes' book is highly recommended.
Math Applied To Some Everyday Things October 21, 2008
Chuck Brooks (Fullerton, CA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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 August 16, 2008
K. Scott Proctor (Wilmington, DE USA)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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