Popular mathematics

Popular mathematics is mathematical presentation aimed at a general audience. Sometimes this is in the form of books which require no mathematical background and in other cases it is in the form of expository articles written by professional mathematicians to reach out to others working in different areas.

For broader coverage of this topic, see Popular science.

Further information: Recreational mathematics

Notable works of popular mathematics

Some of the most prolific popularisers of mathematics include Keith Devlin, Rintu Nath, Martin Gardner, and Ian Stewart. Titles by these three authors can be found on their respective pages.

On zero

• Charles Seife (2000). Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. Souvenir Press. ISBN 978-0-285-63594-4.
• Robert Kaplan (2000). The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero. Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-514237-2.
• Rintu Nath (2013). Moments in Mathematics. Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science and Technology (India). ISBN 978-81-7480-224-8. Archived from the original on 2015-11-02.

On infinity

• Rucker, Rudy (1982), Infinity and the Mind: The Science and Philosophy of the Infinite; Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00172-2.
• Brian Clegg (2003). Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable. Constable and Robinson. ISBN 978-1-84119-650-3.
• Robert Kaplan & Ellen Kaplan (2004). The Art of the Infinite: Our Lost Language of Numbers. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-100886-8.

On constants

• Petr Beckmann (1976). A History of Pi. Saint Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-38185-1.
• Eli Maor (1998). "e", The Story of a Number. Princeton. ISBN 978-0-691-05854-2.
• Mario Livio (2003). The Golden Ratio. Headline Review. ISBN 978-0-7472-4988-7.
• Julian Havil (2003). Gamma. Princeton. ISBN 978-0-691-09983-5.

On complex numbers

• Paul J. Nahin (1998). An Imaginary Tale: The Story of ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {-1}}}$. Princeton. ISBN 978-0691027951.
• Paul J. Nahin (2006). Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula. Princeton. ISBN 978-0-691-11822-2.

On the Riemann hypothesis

• John Derbyshire (2004). Prime Obsession. Plume Books. ISBN 978-0-452-28525-5.
• Marcus du Sautoy (2003). The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics. ISBN 0-06-093558-8.
• Dan Rockmore (2006). Stalking the Riemann Hypothesis: The Quest to Find the Hidden Law of Prime Numbers. Vintage. ISBN 0-375-72772-8.
• Karl Sabbagh (2002). Dr Riemann's Zeros. Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-84354-100-9.

On recently solved problems

• Robin J. Wilson (2003). Four Colours Suffice. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-100908-7.
• Simon Singh (2002). Fermat's Last Theorem. Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-84115-791-0.
• Donal O'Shea (2007). The Poincaré Conjecture. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-84614-012-9.
• George G. Szpiro (2003). Kepler's Conjecture. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-08601-0.
• George G. Szpiro (2007). Poincaré's Prize. Dutton.

On classification of finite simple groups

• Mario Livio (2006). The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved. Souvenir Press. ISBN 978-0-285-63743-6.
• Mark Ronan (2006). Symmetry and the Monster. Oxford. ISBN 0-19-280722-6.

On higher dimensions

• Rucker, Rudy (1984), The Fourth Dimension: Toward a Geometry of Higher Reality; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

On introduction to mathematics for the general reader

• Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins (1941). What is Mathematics?: An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-502517-2.
• Edward C. Titchmarsh (1948). Mathematics for the General Reader. Dover Publications. ISBN 0486813924.

Biographies

• Paul Hoffman (1998). The Man Who Loved Only Numbers. Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-85702-811-2.
• Bruce Schechter (2000). My Brain is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-85980-7.
• Robert Kanigel (1991). The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan. Washington Square Press. ISBN 0-671-75061-5.
• Siobhan Roberts (2006). King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, the Man Who Saved Geometry. Walker Books. ISBN 0-887-84201-1.

Magazines and journals

• Popular science magazines such as New Scientist and Scientific American sometimes carry articles on mathematics.
• Plus Magazine is a free online magazine run under the Millennium Mathematics Project at the University of Cambridge.

The journals listed below can be found in many university libraries.

• American Mathematical Monthly is designed to be accessible to a wide audience.
• The Mathematical Gazette contains letters, book reviews and expositions of attractive areas of mathematics.
• Mathematics Magazine offers lively, readable, and appealing exposition on a wide range of mathematical topics.
• The Mathematical Intelligencer is a mathematical journal that aims at a conversational and scholarly tone.
• Notices of the AMS - Each issue contains one or two expository articles that describe current developments in mathematical research, written by professional mathematicians. The Notices also carries articles on the history of mathematics, mathematics education, and professional issues facing mathematicians, as well as reviews of books, plays, movies, and other artistic and cultural works involving mathematics.

Audio and video

• Simon Singh's Fermat's Last Theorem is available in audio and there is also a Horizon television program.

Museums

Several museums aim at enhancing public understanding of mathematics:

In the United States:

• Museum of Mathematics, New York, and its predecessor, the Goudreau Museum of Mathematics in Art and Science,

In Austria:

• Haus der Mathematik, Wien

In Germany:

• Arithmeum, Bonn
• Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, Dresden
• Mathematikum, Gießen
• Experiminta, Frankfurt on Main
• Virtuelles Freiberger Museum für Mathematik und Kunst, Freiberg
• MiMa Mineralien- und Mathematikmuseum, Oberwolfach

In Italy

• The Garden of Archimedes

References