Cart
Free Shipping in the UK
Proud to be B-Corp

The Foundations of Mathematics Ian Stewart (Emeritus Professor, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick)

The Foundations of Mathematics By Ian Stewart (Emeritus Professor, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick)

The Foundations of Mathematics by Ian Stewart (Emeritus Professor, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick)


£12.00
New RRP £21.99
Condition - Very Good
Only 1 left

Summary

The transition from school to university mathematics is seldom straightforward. Students are faced with a disconnect between the algorithmic and informal attitude to mathematics at school, versus a new emphasis on proof, based on logic, and a more abstract development of general concepts, based on set theory. This book bridges the divide.

The Foundations of Mathematics Summary

The Foundations of Mathematics by Ian Stewart (Emeritus Professor, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick)

The transition from school mathematics to university mathematics is seldom straightforward. Students are faced with a disconnect between the algorithmic and informal attitude to mathematics at school, versus a new emphasis on proof, based on logic, and a more abstract development of general concepts, based on set theory. The authors have many years' experience of the potential difficulties involved, through teaching first-year undergraduates and researching the ways in which students and mathematicians think. The book explains the motivation behind abstract foundational material based on students' experiences of school mathematics, and explicitly suggests ways students can make sense of formal ideas. This second edition takes a significant step forward by not only making the transition from intuitive to formal methods, but also by reversing the process- using structure theorems to prove that formal systems have visual and symbolic interpretations that enhance mathematical thinking. This is exemplified by a new chapter on the theory of groups. While the first edition extended counting to infinite cardinal numbers, the second also extends the real numbers rigorously to larger ordered fields. This links intuitive ideas in calculus to the formal epsilon-delta methods of analysis. The approach here is not the conventional one of 'nonstandard analysis', but a simpler, graphically based treatment which makes the notion of an infinitesimal natural and straightforward. This allows a further vision of the wider world of mathematical thinking in which formal definitions and proof lead to amazing new ways of defining, proving, visualising and symbolising mathematics beyond previous expectations.

The Foundations of Mathematics Reviews

The writing is both rigorous and thorough, and the authors use compact presentations to support their explanations and proofs. Highly recommended. * N. W. Schillow, CHOICE *

About Ian Stewart (Emeritus Professor, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick)

Ian Stewart is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick. He remains an active research mathematician and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. Famed for his popular science writing and broadcasting, for which he is the recipient of numerous awards, his bestselling books include: Does God Play Dice?, Nature's Numbers, and Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities. He also co-authored The Science of Discworld series with Terry Pratchett and Jack Cohen David Tall is Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Thinking at the University of Warwick. Internationally known for his contributions to mathematics education, his most recent book is How Humans Learn to Think Mathematically (2013).

Table of Contents

I: THE INTUITIVE BACKGROUND; II: THE BEGINNINGS OF FORMALISATION; III: THE DEVELOPMENT OF AXIOMATIC SYSTEMS; IV: USING AXIOMATIC SYSTEMS; V: STRENGTHENING THE FOUNDATIONS

Additional information

GOR007889768
9780198706434
019870643X
The Foundations of Mathematics by Ian Stewart (Emeritus Professor, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick)
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Oxford University Press
20150312
416
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - The Foundations of Mathematics