Product Description

This volume constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Workshop on Combinatorial Image Analysis, IWCIA 2008, held in Buffalo, NY, USA, in April 2008.

The 28 revised full papers and 10 revised poster papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 117 initial submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on digital geometry and topology, curves and surfaces, combinatorics in digital spaces: lattice polygons, polytopes, tilings, and patterns, image representation, segmentation, grouping, and reconstruction, applications of computational geometry, integer and linear programming to image analysis, fuzzy and stochastic image analysis, parallel architectures and algorithms, grammars and models for image or scene analysis, as well as discrete tomography, medical imaging, and biometrics.

Product Description
We should all be having fun with math and helping our kids to do better in life by encouraging them to appreciate not only its usefulness but especially its charm. That's just what Posamentier sets out to do in this delightful exploration of maths' many intriguing, interesting, and fun qualities. This is the ideal book for adults looking for a way to turn their kids on to an important subject or discover for themselves what they might have missed in their own math education. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Uninspired
Credit where it's due: Posamentier is entirely right in noting the creativity gap that prevails in standard math teaching, and in insisting that math can (and should be) fun/instructive/fascinating/etc.I agree entirely, and I respect Posamentier for taking the time to assemble the so-called "math charmers" in this volume.Since few of these charmers are explored in any depth, however, I cannot help but feel that the resulting collection is far too light on substance and heavy on "tidbits".As a source book for math teachers (at the elementary or middle school level), MCTTM perhaps has its uses.For readers seriously interested in the 'Queen of the Sciences', MCTTM is pretty shallow stuff.Greatly annoying, moreover, is Posamentier's constant reminder that whatever he's just described/is in the process of describing/will shortly describe is fascinating/informative/wonderful/etc.These refrains add nothing to the exposition, and become very tiresome very fast.In sum, though I have great respect for Posamentier the educator and would-be education-reformer (power to him!), I was completely uninspired by MCTTM.Similar content has been given far more incisive treatment by other authors in other publications.

This is a nice book, but...
I really like this book. It contains a high concentration of nice math demonstrations. It is appropriate for students as young as 11 or 12, although such young students might not understand all of the concepts, and it is great for high school aged students who are looking for interesting little tidbits that are different from their usual course work. It is also a good book for adults who like math.
However, it virtually identical to the author's other book "Math Wonders". It makes absolutely no sense to buy them both - they are the same nearly word for word. Amazon should not be pairing the two together in a package deal.

I'm Charmed
Math has never been my strongest subject, but this book makes it absolutely fascinating! Posamentier is engaging and delightfully charms his readers with wonderful math puzzles.This book taught me more about math than I ever expected to learn.Quite the introduction to beauty and excitement of math!

A nicely done book on math factoids and problem solving
*Math Charmers* is a nicely done book dealing with various facts about mathematics. I want to emphasize that these facts are presented in a problem-solving format (i.e., a question is posed and the solution is provided). The best way to learn about math is to solve problems, thus Posamentier's format works well in striving toward his stated goal.

Posamentier has written several excellent books on math education that, like this book, emphasizes the problem-solving approach. *Math Charmers* is his foray (I think) into the 'pop-math' genre and I think he did a fine job here.

I wanted to briefly address the one negative review thus far: Yes, it does have some sections that can be found elsewhere, but anyone can say that about any other pop-math book. So that sort of criticism in it of itself is hardly a useful (or original, ironically) observation. The real issue is whether *Math Charmers* provides any new ideas and insights as well as handling the old favorites in a useful manner. This book suceeds on both counts.

Math Charmers:Tantalizing Tidbits for the Mind
This is an outstanding book for the reader who would like to give himself a chance to really appreciate mathematics for the beauty that may not have been experienced at first encounter.The book is really entertaining and has many topics that left me with a one word reaction: WOW! I would highly recommend this book to anyone willing to appreciate mathematics, especially those who feared it in the past.It has many small but truly delightful topics that really entertained me.Frankly, I didn't want to put the book down once I got into it. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from World of Earth Science, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 913 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.A comprehensive guide to the concepts, theories, discoveries, pioneers, and issues relating to topics in earth science. Its encyclopedic approach offers entries that are written in easy to understand language. ... Read more

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Invigorate instruction and engage students with this updated treasure trove of 114 ready-to-use techniques compiled by two of the greatest minds in mathematics.

Customer Reviews (6)

Teacher book
Maybe, I have been teaching too long but I did not find many new Ideas for introducing key concepts.I was searching for some concrete examples, not the traditional ones suggested in the book.

Clever Ideas
The book had some very clever Ideas. A bit too many using math tiles. I dont really enjoy them but there were enough other idea to balance it out.

Good Information
Some of the ideas in this book I found a tad confusing but there are quite a few great analogies and tricks to make remembering math concepts easier for students. I reccommend this book for any secondary math teacher.

Packed with ideas.
The updated second edition of 101+ Great Ideas for Introducing Key Concepts in Mathematics: A Resource for Secondary school Teachers is a 'must' for any who wish more proven classroom practices. Over a hundred strategies for teaching math are arranged by subject matter, with each listing identifying objectives, materials, and procedures. Both hands-on and computer-based approaches are detailed, with plenty of lessons and examples throughout. This comes form a mathematician/professor and a math pioneer and Nobel Prize recipient: from geometry to algebra, teachers will find it packed with ideas.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Really Great/Really Key
Posamentier has really good ideas that are helpful for high school teachers. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a one act play with six scenes about the mathematician Isaac Newton when he was England's "Master of the Mint" ... Read more

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This volume constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Symposium "Computational Modeling of Objects Represented in Images. Fundamentals, Methods and Applications'', CompIMAGE 2010, held in Buffalo, NY, in May 2010. The 28 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 77 submissions. They are organized in topical sections on theoretical foundations of image analysis and processing; methods and applications on medical imaging, bioimaging, biometrics, and imaging in material sciences, as well as methods and applications on image reconstruction, computed tomography, and other applications. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Humanist, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1402 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Dissecting a breakthrough: the unexpected importance of basic scientific research in improving public health.(Reprint)
Author: Herbert A. Hauptman
Publication: The Humanist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 67Issue: 1Page: 10(3)

Article Type: Reprint

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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As Told to and Edited by D. J. GrotheIntroduction by Paul Kurtz "Does the scientist’s world conform to the real one? Nature usually answers this question with an emphatic ‘No!’ It has in fact been said that Nature delights in saying ‘No’ and only with the greatest reluctance condescends to reveal her secrets. For this reason the scientist’s life is not an easy one. However, on those rare occasions when his world does conform to the real one, and for this reason does throw light on the world around us, the rewards and the satisfactions are great and more than compensate for the many disappointments."— Herbert A. HauptmanIn this memoir of a long, distinguished career devoted to scientific research, world-renowned mathematician Herbert A. Hauptman recounts both the joys and the disappointments of his lifelong quest to induce nature to "reveal her secrets." In 1985, Dr. Hauptman received the greatest honor that any scientist can receive, when the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded him and his colleague, Jerome Karle, the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Drs. Hauptman and Karle were recognized "for their outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures." This work has proved to be of the greatest importance because it relates molecular structure to biological activity, thus permitting a better understanding of life processes and making possible the development of many new disease-fighting drugs. Dr. Hauptman vividly describes the difficulties of the mathematical work that led up to his discovery as well as his joy when he finally hit upon! a method of unraveling the structure of crystals.

In addition, he provides a personal account of his background, family, his formative studies in high school and college, and the experiences that motivated him to pursue a life devoted to scientific research. A strong advocate of the naturalistic worldview and a critic of supernaturalism in any form, he reflects on the alleged compatibility of science and religion and emphasizes the importance of scientific understanding for contemporary civilization.

Complete with an appendix containing the original monograph (coauthored with Jerome Karle), which became the basis for their Nobel Prize-winning work, this fascinating and moving memoir offers important insights into the nature of scientific research and the value of the scientific outlook on life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

On The Beauty of the Man
This enlightening book is a unique look into the life and work of one of the most distinguished scientists of our time, Dr. Herbert Hauptman. Dr. Hauptman describes his Nobel Prize winning work from the perspective of a man, husband, and father with a deep love and dedication to his work and his family. Dr. Hauptman's vision in writing this book was to help others not only come to understand better the great importance of basic science in today's advanced technological society but also to gain an appreciation of the beauty of mathematics and the indispensable role which mathematics plays in making such a society possible. In this book Dr. Hauptman has achieved his goal. Dr. Hauptman's wisdom and compassion for his work and life serves as an inspiration for people young and old.

A DISAPPOINTMENT
This is a very poorly written book.Perhaps partly typified by a typographical error, when the author relates having worked for the "Navel" Research Laboratory (p.34).I imagined he may have looked for God by contemplating his belly button.

I was attracted to the book to see what a brilliant scientist/mathemetician had to say about the relationship of God and science.I can summarize what he said.There is no compatibility.Also there is no justification,philosophy or wisdom in the chapter devoted to the subject.I am no wiser for having perservered to read the whole chapter.He gave me nothing to either disagree or agree with, I only know his opinion, not his rationale.

His tale of his stint in the Navy during WWII made me aware of the opinion the Navy had of him as an officer.His most challenging assignment was as a base fire marshall where he was pretty much left to being supervised by enlisted personnel. In uniform he was lost.

Dr. Hauptman was awarded the Nobel Prize for being thefirst to find a mathmatical solution for understanding x-ray crystallography, a subject somewhat above my ability to understand and appreciate. Perhaps the book should be recommended only to those who are curious about that subject, not to anyone interested in him reflecting on the subject of God,the universe and the nature of discovery, the come-on printed on the book's cover. ... Read more

Product Description
Herbert Aaron Hauptmanis a world renowned American mathematician and Nobel laureate. He pioneered and developed a mathematical method that has changed the whole field of chemistry and opened a new era in research in determination of molecular structures of crystallized materials. Today, Hauptman's direct methods, which he has continued to improve and refine, are routinely used to solve complicated structures. It was the application of this mathematical method to a wide variety of chemical structures that led the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to name Hauptman and Jerome Karle recipients of the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. ... Read more

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This is written in German. ... Read more