Mathematics and the Imagination

By Edward Kasner, James R. Newman

Categories: Science & Math

Edward Kasner and James R. Newman show that mathematics is a creative and imaginative subject rather than a set of dry rules. The authors explore very large numbers, including the googol, which Kasner named, along with pi, non-Euclidean geometry, topology, probability, paradoxes and the idea of infinity. They use puzzles and clear examples to make advanced ideas accessible to general readers. First published in 1940, the book remains a classic of popular mathematics.

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• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “George Gamow's "One, Two, Three . . . Infinity" (1947) and Edward Kasner and James Newman's "Mathematics and the Imagination" (1940) ... turned math and science into an intellectual playground that I never wanted to leave”