When Least Is Best: How Mathematicians Discovered Many Clever Ways to Make Things as Small (or as Large) as Possible Paperback - 2007 - 1st Edition
by Paul Nahin
By combining the mathematical history of extrema with contemporary examples, Nahin answers intriguing questions in this engaging and witty volume. He shows how life often works at the extremes--with values becoming as small (or as large) as possible--and how mathematicians over the centuries have struggled to calculate these problems of minima and maxima.
First line
This book has been written from the practical point of view of the engineer, and so you'll see few rigorous proofs on any of the pages that follow.
From the rear cover
"This is a delightful account of how the concepts of maxima, minima, and differentiation evolved with time. The level of mathematical sophistication is neither abstract nor superficial and it should appeal to a wide audience."--Ali H. Sayed, University of California, Los Angeles
"When Least Is Best is an illustrative historical walk through optimization problems as solved by mathematicians and scientists. Although many of us associate solving optimization with calculus, Paul J. Nahin shows here that many key problems were posed and solved long before calculus was developed."--Mary Ann B. Freeman, Math Team Development Manager, Mathworks
Details
- Title When Least Is Best: How Mathematicians Discovered Many Clever Ways to Make Things as Small (or as Large) as Possible
- Author Paul Nahin
- Binding Paperback
- Edition number 1st
- Edition 1
- Pages 392
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Princeton University Press
- Date 2007-07-22
- Features Index, Table of Contents
- ISBN 9780691130521 / 0691130523
- Weight 1.25 lbs (0.57 kg)
- Dimensions 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 in (23.11 x 15.49 x 2.79 cm)
- Library of Congress subjects Mathematics - History, Maxima and minima
- Dewey Decimal Code 511.66
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