by Mario Salvadori (Author)
From addition and subtraction to plane and space geometry, simultaneous linear equations, and probability, this book explains middle school math with problems that kids want to solve: "Seventy-five employees of a company buy a lotto ticket together and win $22.5 million. How much does each employee get?" Intriguing facts about the history of math show what a human creation it is, and human errors are revealed through explorations of both Maya and Hindu concepts of zero as well as Mr. William Shanks' 1858 attempt at hand-calculating pi.
Author Biography
Mario Salvadori, author of The Art of Construction, Why Buildings Stand Up, and many other books, was an internationally known architect, mathematician, and teacher whose career spanned more than 60 years. A longtime resident of New York City, Dr. Salvadori died in June, 1997. Joseph P. Wright is a professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University.