Notices of the American Mathematical Society

This entertaining book presents a collection of 180 famous mathematical puzzles and intriguing elementary problems that great mathematicians have posed, discussed, and/or solved. The selected problems do not require advanced mathematics, making this book accessible to a variety of readers. Mathematical recreations offer a rich playground for both amateur and professional mathematicians. Believing that creative stimuli and aesthetic considerations are closely related, great mathematicians from ancient times to the present have always taken an interest in puzzles and diversions. The goal of this book is to show that famous mathematicians have all communicated brilliant ideas, methodological approaches, and absolute genius in mathematical thoughts by using recreational mathematics as a framework. Concise biographies of many mathematicians mentioned in the text are also included. The majority of the mathematical problems presented in this book originated in number theory, graph theory, optimization, and probability. Others are based on combinatorial and chess problems, while still others are geometrical and arithmetical puzzles. This book is intended to be both entertaining as well as an introduction to various intriguing mathematical topics and ideas. Certainly, many stories and famous puzzles can be very useful to prepare classroom lectures, to inspire and amuse students, and to instill affection for mathematics. December 2014, Front Cover 2015 JMM Dinner Celebration WebAssign AMS MathSciNet for Developing Countries December 2014, Table of Contents Princeton University Press: Do the Math MRC Call for Applicants Opinion: Burden on Graduate School Recommenders, Bernard Deconinck 2015 JMM AMS Employment Center Tsinghua University Almost a Century of Answering the Question: What Is a Mock Theta Function?, W. Duke AMS: Editor/Senior Editor Job Posting Remembering Shoshichi Kobayashi, Gary R. Jensen Mathematical Reviews/MathSciNet 75 MAA Special JMM Session: Teaching Calculus with a Tablet Math Teachers' Circles: Partnerships between Mathematicians and Teachers, B. Donaldson, M. Nakamaye, K. Umland, and D. White International Press of Boston Two Essays from Mathematicians Who Lost Their Faces, Shoshichi Kobayashi, Translated by Hisashi Kobayashi Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics at All?--A Book Review, Reviewed by John P. Burgess The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day--A Book Review, Reviewed by Andrew I. Dale AMS Publication News--Mathematical Reviews Celebrates 75 Years Doceamus: The Kan Extension Seminar: An Experimental Online Graduate Reading Course, Emily Riehl Mathematics People Mathematics Opportunities For Your Information Inside the AMS Reference and Book List Mathematics Calendar New Publications Offered by the AMS Classified Advertisements Meetings and Conferences of the AMS Meetings and Conferences Table of Contents 2014 Notices Index 2015 JMM Advance Registration/Housing Form Who Wants to be a Mathematician 2015 Contest rnoti-cover-4