Archimedes' Revenge The Joys and Perils of Mathematics

Now anyone can understand what the mathematical geniuses are thinking . . . . * How topologists figured out the way to turn a smokestack into a bowling ball -- and why. * How game theorists discovered that to elect the candidate of your choice you must sometimes vote for his opponent. * How computer theorists intend to create a robot that will think for itself -- and do all the housework. * How cryptographers have been laboring since 1822 to decipher a map that will lead to a buried treasure worth millions of dollars. Archimedes' Revenge takes the reader on a guided tour of the world of contemporary mathematics and makes its infinite marvels comprehensible, relevant, and fun. "A breezy and lighthearted account of a number of topics in and around the periphery of mathematics . . . Mr. Hoffman approaches mathematics as a storyteller, and a good one." -- The New York Times Book Review "From the Paperback edition.