CHARLES BABBAGE, the father of modern computing, was said to have looked for
a mathematical approach to any problem he tackled from postal services to
miracles. This is simply because mathematics is almost everywhere. The gift of
being able to see it, however, is not given to everyone, so ordinary mortals may
need the help of someone like Tom Korner to discover the presence (and the
power) of maths.
In The Pleasures of Counting (Cambridge University Press,
拢17.95/$34.95, ISBN 0 521 56823 4), Korner takes us on a guided
tour of the magnificent palace of mathematics, aided by frequent quotations from
many of those who contributed to its splendours. The book is intended as 鈥渕aths
for mathematicians鈥濃�攆rom beginners to professionals鈥攁nd for those
who 鈥渧alue mathematics without fearing it鈥�. This is real mathematics, not the
watered down versions served in 鈥渕aths for liberal arts鈥� courses.
The section titles are as intriguing as the choice of topics is original:
鈥淲hy are we not all called Smith?鈥� (populations and probability). I especially
enjoyed the chapters on the role of operations research and other mathematical
methods in helping to win two world wars.
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The text is sprinkled with thought-provoking 鈥渆xercises鈥�, many of which might
be beyond the educated general reader, but will surely be appreciated by those
more mathematically equipped.
Not just maths lovers, but a much larger audience, should enjoy Korner鈥檚
witty prose and enlightening comments, numerous historical passages and
anecdotes. I would particularly recommend the book to all maths teachers. They
should end up better prepared to face the dreaded question鈥攚hat is the use
of mathematics?