Interesting Mathematics

[Abd-al-Karim]

I am studying Maths at varsity and I'm doing ok in it academically but I would like to do better, I find that I lose motivation a lot because I fail to see how what I am doing relates to real life, sometimes, like how is this applied in the modern world. Applications we do in class are far and few in between so I often loose interest. I think that if I had more motivation I would do better, and I would like to know if anyone knows of any good (not too technical)books about maths specifically its development and the people involved in coming up with importnat discoveries(I find that very interesting) as well as modern applications of Maths (I'm not looking for a textbook though) ideally I am looking for somethig thats almost like a novel format. Do you know what I mean?

 

I found that the movie "A Beautiful Mind" really got my interests up in game theory and linear algebra and think that partly because of this I did better in that section than in Calculus. This is probably because I am also studying economics.

 

So If you know anything that might help please let me know, it would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance for any comments .

[RedAlert]

I am only in Grade 9, but I see what you mean. We are rarely taught how we will use the particular concept we are learning in real life.

 

I too would really appreciate such books, and for me textbook format books are fine. I want to know where I can use the principles I am learning. I would also like to know about titles of books that teach good problem solving.

 

Also, I have a great interests for doing logic puzzles and math puzzles (but little skill in doing them). So I try to practice by finding puzzles on the internet to improve my skills in problem solving. Does anyone know any good books that are about logic/math puzzles?

 

I found lateral thinking books......but they seem to be the most random puzzles ever.....

 

Example: (Don't google the answer out please )

A man walks into the bar and asks for a glass of water. The barman pulls out his gun and points it at the man. The man thanks the barman in good faith, and leaves the bar. There is a perfectly logical reason for the barman's actions. What is the reason?

 

Try and solve this puzzle. I will tell you the answer if no one can solve it, you will see how random it is when I give you the answer.

[Abd-al-Karim]

The man wanted water to swallow a suicide pill and the barman having seen this before takes out a gun to remind the guy of death so he leaves????????????

[jordan]

It was a squirtgun?

[RedAlert]

Nope both of you guys are wrong. This is what a "lateral thinking puzzle" is. I think it is bullshit. In any case, here is the answer:

 

The man had the hiccups. He had asked the barman for a glass of water for that reason. However, when the barman pulled out his gun, it shocked the man, ridding him of his problem. That is why he said thankyou and left.

[Meital]

Abd-Al-Karim's answer makes more sense to me..any more puzzles redalert?

[ku]

What do you mean by "real life"?

 

Mathematics just allows you to analyse the natural world at a deeper level. Most people look at the world at a superficial level and so assume that math is irrelevent to "real life."

[davesbird]

Last year, once the exams were over and I had four weeks of term left, in the beautiful sunshine, I read the ever popular Fermats Last Theorem by Simon Singh. I didn't exactly wan to suddenly start trying to reproduce the proof or anything, but it did get me interested in Elliptic Curves and stuff, and hence has helped me to choose some of my options for next year.

 

Another book, that I won as a Maths prize back at school, was Why Do Buses Come in Threes? which applies maths to everyday situations, which was a good read, if nothing else.

[RedAlert]

Ok maybe I should put it is math that captures my interest.

 

For more of these lateral thinking puzzles go here.