From the revelation of fire to mediaeval quests for the legendary Philosopher’s Stone, the alchemical path has attracted many great minds.Packed with recipes for herbal elixirs, soothing balms, heady scents, rich pigments, and potent solvents, The Alchemist’s Kitchen will appeal to anyone fascinated by the past and the occult world.From the legendary Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus and Paracelsus’s spagyric medicine, to the ancient science of the four elements and the symbolic associations of mediaeval pigment recipes, this book—illustrated with old engravings and original art—takes you inside mediaeval laboratories and kitchens to explore the sacred secrets of matter.

    To understand algebra is to possess the power to grow your skills and knowledge so you can ace your courses and possibly pursue further study in math. Algebra II For Dummies is the fun and easy way to get a handle on this subject and solve even the trickiest algebra problems. This friendly guide shows you how to get up to speed on exponential functions, laws of logarithms, conic sections, matrices, and other advanced algebra concepts. In no time you'll have the tools you need to:Interpret quadratic functions Find the roots of a polynomial Reason with rational functions Expose exponential and logarithmic functions Cut up conic sections Solve linear and non linear systems of equations Equate inequalities Simplifyy complex numbers Make moves with matrices Sort out sequences and sets This straightforward guide offers plenty of multiplication tricks that only math teachers know. It also profiles special types of numbers, making it easy for you to categorize them and solve any problems without breaking a sweat. When it comes to understanding and working out algebraic equations, Algebra II For Dummies is all you need to succeed!

    Using playing cards, a newspaper, the back of an envelope, a Sudoku, some pennies and of course a pair of socks, Rob Eastaway shows how maths can demonstrate its secret beauties in even the most mundane of everyday objects. Among the many fascinating curiosities in these pages, you will discover the strange link between limericks and rabbits, an apparently 'fair' coin game where the odds are massively in your favour, why tourist boards can't agree on where the centre of Britain is, and how simple paper folding can lead to a Jurassic Park monster. With plenty of ideas you'll want to test out for yourself, this engaging and refreshing look at mathematics is for everyone.

    Jerry King is no exception. His informal, nontechnical book, as its title implies, is organized around what Bertrand Russell called the 'supreme beauty' of mathematics--a beauty 'capable of a stern perfection such as only the greatest art can show.'NATUREIn this clear, concise, and superbly written volume, mathematics professor and poet Jerry P. King reveals the beauty that is at the heart of mathematics--and he makes that beauty accessible to all readers. Darting wittily from Euclid to Yeats, from Poincare to Rembrandt, from axioms to symphonies, THE ART OF MATHEMATICS explores the difference between real, rational, and complex numbers; analyzes the intellectual underpinnings of pure and applied mathematics; and reveals the fundamental connection between aesthetics and mathematics. King also sheds light on how mathematicians pursue their research and how our educational system perpetuates the damaging divisions between the two cultures.

    Reveals mathematics' great power as an alternative language for understanding things and explores such concepts as logic as a computing tool, digital versus analog processes and communication as information transmission.

    But a dispute over its discovery sowed the seeds of discontent between two of the greatest scientific giants of all time - Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz." "Today Newton and Leibniz are generally considered the twin independent inventors of calculus. They are both credited with giving mathematics its greatest push forward since the time of the Greeks. Had they known each other under different circumstances, they might have been friends. But in their own lifetimes, the joint glory of calculus was not enough for either and each declared war against the other, openly and in secret." This long and bitter dispute has been swept under the carpet by historians - perhaps because it reveals Newton and Leibniz in their worst light - but The Calculus Wars tells the full story in narrative form for the first time. This history ultimately exposes how these twin mathematical giants were brilliant, proud, at times mad, and in the end completely human.

    Describes how fractals were discovered, explains their unique properties, and discusses the mathematical foundation of fractals.

    Each self-contained chapter consists of three sections. The first describes the statistic, including how it is used and what information it provides. The second section reviews how it works, how to calculate the formula, the strengths and weaknesses of the technique, and the conditions needed for its use. The final section provides examples that use and interpret the statistic. A glossary of terms and symbols is also included.New features in the second edition include:an interactive CD with PowerPoint presentations and problems for each chapter including an overview of the problem's solution; new chapters on basic research concepts including sampling, definitions of different types of variables, and basic research designs and one on nonparametric statistics; more graphs and more precise descriptions of each statistic; and a discussion of confidence intervals.This brief paperback is an ideal supplement for statistics, research methods, courses that use statistics, or as a reference tool to refresh one's memory about key concepts. The actual research examples are from psychology, education, and other social and behavioral sciences.Materials formerly available with this book on CD-ROM are now available for download from our website www.psypress.com. Go to the book's page and look for the 'Download' link in the right-hand column.

    Never again will you order the Poisson Distribution in a French restaurant!This updated version features all new material.

    Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science. He explores the relationship between Newton and Leibniz, the men behind the calculus; looks at how the mathematics that Euler invented 200 years ago paved the way for the internet and discovers how Fourier transformed our understanding of heat, light and sound. In addition, he finds out how Galois’ mathematics describes the particles that make up our universe, how Gaussian distribution underpins modern medicine, and how Riemann’s maths helped Einstein with his theory of relativity. Finally, he introduces Cantor, who discovered infinite numbers; Poincaré, whose work gave rise to chaos theory; G.H. Hardy, whose work inspired the millions of codes that help to keep the internet safe, and Nicolas Bourbaki, the mathematician who never was. The BBC Radio 4 series looking at the people who shaped modern mathematics, written and presented by Marcus du Sautoy. 1 CDs, 150 minutes

    Capturing the tone of students exchanging ideas among themselves, this unique guide also explains how calculus is taught, how to get the best teachers, what to study, and what is likely to be on exams—all the tricks of the trade that will make learning the material of first-semester calculus a piece of cake. Funny, irreverent, and flexible, How to Ace Calculus shows why learning calculus can be not only a mind-expanding experience but also fantastic fun.

    Collected here to keep your wits sharp, The Best Brain Teasers of All Time features the cleverest brain teasers from around the world and throughout history.The Best Brain Teasers of All Time gives you hours of fun-filled entertainment with brain teasers that develop your problem-solving skills in math, logic, and wordplay. Organized as an integrated challenge, these brain teasers build in momentum as they increase in difficulty from classic nursery rhymes to the riddle of the sphinx.The Best Brain Teasers of All Time puts your mind to the test with: 125 Brain Teasers that require no special skills to solve. Plus, each question comes with an optional clue in case you get stumped and a handy answer key in the back to test yourself or play with friends Brain Teasers for Every Level that cater to beginners and advanced masterminds alike, with brain teasers organized by level of difficulty to improve your skills as you move forward Hints of History that provide fun facts and background information for every brain teaser Get ready to sharpen your wit with every “aha” moment. The Best Brain Teasers of All Time is a go-to source for timeless fun and mind-blowing challenges.

    For some of us, the word conjures up memories of ten-pound textbooks and visions of tedious abstract equations. And yet, in reality, calculus is fun, accessible, and surrounds us everywhere we go. In Everyday Calculus, Oscar Fernandez shows us how to see the math in our coffee, on the highway, and even in the night sky.Fernandez uses our everyday experiences to skillfully reveal the hidden calculus behind a typical day's events. He guides us through how math naturally emerges from simple observations-how hot coffee cools down, for example-and in discussions of over fifty familiar events and activities. Fernandez demonstrates that calculus can be used to explore practically any aspect of our lives, including the most effective number of hours to sleep and the fastest route to get to work. He also shows that calculus can be both useful-determining which seat at the theater leads to the best viewing experience, for instance-and fascinating-exploring topics such as time travel and the age of the universe. Throughout, Fernandez presents straightforward concepts, and no prior mathematical knowledge is required. For advanced math fans, the mathematical derivations are included in the appendixes.Whether you're new to mathematics or already a curious math enthusiast, Everyday Calculus invites you to spend a day discovering the calculus all around you. The book will convince even die-hard skeptics to view this area of math in a whole new way.

    Lang, one of the worlds foremost origami artists and scientists, presents the never-before-described mathematical and geometric principles that allow anyone to design original origami, something once restricted to an elite few. From the theoretical underpinnings to detailed step-by-step folding sequences, this book takes a modern look at the centuries-old art of origami.

    But, Alex Bellos says, "math can be inspiring and brilliantly creative. Mathematical thought is one of the great achievements of the human race, and arguably the foundation of all human progress. The world of mathematics is a remarkable place."Bellos has traveled all around the globe and has plunged into history to uncover fascinating stories of mathematical achievement, from the breakthroughs of Euclid, the greatest mathematician of all time, to the creations of the Zen master of origami, one of the hottest areas of mathematical work today. Taking us into the wilds of the Amazon, he tells the story of a tribe there who can count only to five and reports on the latest findings about the math instinct--including the revelation that ants can actually count how many steps they've taken. Journeying to the Bay of Bengal, he interviews a Hindu sage about the brilliant mathematical insights of the Buddha, while in Japan he visits the godfather of Sudoku and introduces the brainteasing delights of mathematical games.Exploring the mysteries of randomness, he explains why it is impossible for our iPods to truly randomly select songs. In probing the many intrigues of that most beloved of numbers, pi, he visits with two brothers so obsessed with the elusive number that they built a supercomputer in their Manhattan apartment to study it. Throughout, the journey is enhanced with a wealth of intriguing illustrations, such as of the clever puzzles known as tangrams and the crochet creation of an American math professor who suddenly realized one day that she could knit a representation of higher dimensional space that no one had been able to visualize. Whether writing about how algebra solved Swedish traffic problems, visiting the Mental Calculation World Cup to disclose the secrets of lightning calculation, or exploring the links between pineapples and beautiful teeth, Bellos is a wonderfully engaging guide who never fails to delight even as he edifies. "Here's Looking at Euclid "is a rare gem that brings the beauty of math to life.