Amusing and informative in its approach to solving mathematical bafflers, this treasury of theories, games, puzzles and oddities of all kinds, compiled by one of the world's best card players (Jacoby) and an expert in mathematical recreations (Benson) will delight and fascinate math enthusiasts.
Although primarily intended to entertain, the wide variety of puzzles ― ranging from facile curiosities to very difficult intellectual exercises ― will challenge you to keep your mind going full steam. Each of the book's five sections ― "Fun with Numbers," "Fun with Letters," "The Odds: Explorations in Probability," "Where Inference and Reasoning Reign" and "The Answers Are Whole Numbers" ― is made up of approximately 30 problems, with solutions grouped at the end of each section. Math buffs will love testing their puzzle-solving skills on such challenging brainteasers as The Enterprising Snail, Mrs. Crabbe and the Bacon, The Fly and the Bicycles, The Lovesick Cockroaches, The Three Prisoners, Girls Should Live in Brooklyn, Who Was Executed?, Creaker vs. Roadhog, The Crossed Ladders, The Ancient Order of the Greens, and many more.
Few of these problems require any advanced mathematical knowledge or prowess. You'll find that simply keeping your wits about you and your logical skills honed are all you need to enjoy a delightful and thought-provoking adventure in recreational mathematics. Foreword. 10 illustrations. 14 tables.