'The physical form of this new title is pleasing, including good paper, readable font, and durable binding … The book is not a collection of practical ideas. Rather, it is intended for those curious about pure mathematical tidbits. The flavor is light, as opposed to pedantic. Among the numerous books of this type, this title is significantly better than most. It should be considered for private collections and for libraries that can afford to serve a small, unique readership.Summing Up: Recommended. General readers.'CHOICEThis book demonstrates to the general audience that mathematics can be entertaining and fun, rather than the sad reputation it has gained over decades from uninspired school instruction that is often devoid of enrichment or motivational considerations.The book is designed in such a way that a reader will need almost no special preparation in mathematics, but to recall some of the most basic concepts that were taught at the lower-secondary-grade level.Yet, by the same token, the book will hopefully open up doors for those less motivated in mathematics — to interest readers to investigate some of the topics presented and thereby enhance their knowledge of mathematics — something most general readers will not initially find possible, but we hope will be an end product of this book.

Stanford mathematician and NPR Math Guy Keith Devlin explains why, fun aside, video games are the ideal medium to teach middle-school math. Aimed primarily at teachers and education researchers, but also of interest to game developers who want to produce videogames for mathematics education, Mathematics Education for a New Era: Video Games as a Med

A unique book providing a tour through the fascinating connections between mathematics and games.

The history of mathematics is filled with major breakthroughs resulting from solutions to recreational problems. Problems of interest to gamblers led to the modern theory of probability, for example, and surreal numbers were inspired by the game of Go. Yet even with such groundbreaking findings and a wealth of popular-level books, research in recreational mathematics has often been neglected. The Mathematics of Various Entertaining Subjects now returns with a brand-new compilation of fascinating problems and solutions in recreational mathematics. This latest volume gathers together the top experts in recreational math and presents a compelling look at board games, card games, dice, toys, computer games, and much more. The book is divided into five parts: puzzles and brainteasers, geometry and topology, graph theory, games of chance, and computational complexity. Readers will discover what origami, roulette wheels, and even the game of Trouble can teach about math. Essays contain new results, and the contributors include short expositions on their topic’s background, providing a framework for understanding the relationship between serious mathematics and recreational games. Mathematical areas explored include combinatorics, logic, graph theory, linear algebra, geometry, topology, computer science, operations research, probability, game theory, and music theory. Investigating an eclectic mix of games and puzzles, The Mathematics of Various Entertaining Subjects is sure to entertain, challenge, and inspire academic mathematicians and avid math enthusiasts alike.

Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications, 2nd edition presents the core mathematics necessary for sophisticated 3D graphics and interactive physical simulations. The book begins with linear algebra and matrix multiplication and expands on this foundation to cover such topics as color and lighting, interpolation, animation and basic game physics. Essential Mathematics focuses on the issues of 3D game development important to programmers and includes optimization guidance throughout. The new edition Windows code will now use Visual Studio.NET. There will also be DirectX support provided, along with OpenGL - due to its cross-platform nature. Programmers will find more concrete examples included in this edition, as well as additional information on tuning, optimization and robustness. The book has a companion CD-ROM with exercises and a test bank for the academic secondary market, and for main market: code examples built around a shared code base, including a math library covering all the topics presented in the book, a core vector/matrix math engine, and libraries to support basic 3D rendering and interaction.

Rich selection of 100 practice problems — with hints and solutions — for students preparing for the William Lowell Putnam and other undergraduate-level mathematical competitions. Features real numbers, differential equations, integrals, polynomials, sets, other topics. Hours of stimulating challenge for math buffs at varying degrees of proficiency. References.

Famed puzzle expert explains math behind a multitude of mystifying tricks: card tricks, stage "mind reading," coin and match tricks, counting out games, geometric dissections, etc. More than 400 tricks. 135 illustrations.

Sports analytics has gathered tremendous momentum as one of the most dynamic fields. Diving deep into the numbers of sports can be game changing or simply a fun exercise for fans. How do you get in the game with numbers? What questions can be explored? What actionable insights can be gleaned?Do you like sports? This book will detail ways to analyze athletics to gain insight that can otherwise be obscured. Like math? You'll find many mathematical topics not involving sports. You'll also see how sports analytics can train you broadly in mathematics.From coaching at the highest levels to national media broadcasts, analytics are becoming increasingly indispensable. Dive into the numbers behind soccer to basketball to baseball to boxing to swimming, dive into the numbers. Learn how to get in the game with sports and mathematics.

The noted expert selects 70 of his favorite "short" puzzles, including such mind-bogglers as The Returning Explorer, The Mutilated Chessboard, Scrambled Box Tops, and dozens more involving logic and basic math. Solutions included.