Measurement

Paul Lockhart

Published by Harvard University Press 2012

Measurement

Paul Lockhart

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674067349

Overview
Contents

About this book

For seven years, Paul Lockhart’s A Mathematician’s Lament enjoyed a samizdat-style popularity in the mathematics underground, before demand prompted its 2009 publication to even wider applause and debate. An impassioned critique of K–12 mathematics education, it outlined how we shortchange students by introducing them to math the wrong way. Here Lockhart offers the positive side of the math education story by showing us how math should be done. Measurement offers a permanent solution to math phobia by introducing us to mathematics as an artful way of thinking and living.

In conversational prose that conveys his passion for the subject, Lockhart makes mathematics accessible without oversimplifying. He makes no more attempt to hide the challenge of mathematics than he does to shield us from its beautiful intensity. Favoring plain English and pictures over jargon and formulas, he succeeds in making complex ideas about the mathematics of shape and motion intuitive and graspable. His elegant discussion of mathematical reasoning and themes in classical geometry offers proof of his conviction that mathematics illuminates art as much as science.

Lockhart leads us into a universe where beautiful designs and patterns float through our minds and do surprising, miraculous things. As we turn our thoughts to symmetry, circles, cylinders, and cones, we begin to see that almost anyone can “do the math” in a way that brings emotional and aesthetic rewards. Measurement is an invitation to summon curiosity, courage, and creativity in order to experience firsthand the playful excitement of mathematical work.

Author information

Paul Lockhart teaches mathematics at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, New York.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
REALITY AND IMAGINATION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
ON PROBLEMS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
PART ONE. SIZE AND SHAPE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
PART TWO. TIME AND SPACE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	399
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	401

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: Academics, Students, Libraries, Institutes
Pages
- Main content: 416
Illustrations
- Other: 416 line illustrations

eBook

Published: September 25, 2012
ISBN: 9780674067349