Is Mathematics Inevitable? A Miscellany (Spectrum)

This is a collection of gems from the literature of mathematics that shine as brightly today as when they first appeared in print. They deserve to be seen and admired. The selections include two opposing views on the purpose of mathematics, The Strong Law of Small Numbers, the treatment of calculus in the 1771 Encyclopaedia Britannica, several proofs that the number of legs on a horse is infinite, a deserved refutation of the ridiculous Euler-Diderot anecdote, the real story of pi and the Indiana Legislature, the reason why Theodorus stopped proving that square roots were irrational when he got to the square root of 17, an excerpt from Mathematics Made Difficult; a glimpse into the mind of a calculating prodigy….There will be something of interest here for almost anyone interested in mathematics. Underwood Dudley is the bestselling author of several MAA books: Mathematical Cranks, Numerology, and the Trisectors. He has an Erdos number of 1.