» Mathematical Puzzles: A Connoisseur's Collection

Mathematical Puzzles: A Connoisseur's Collection Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Must for a puzzle lover
Comment: Enjoyed the book a lot. I sometimes found the questions a bit hard to understand but that I guess that is done intentionally.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A real exercise in logical and creative thought
Comment: This book mainly requires that you be at ease with mathematics and mathematical terms on the level of a high school student. The solutions don't involve long calculations and calculus books. They are brain teasers that often require out-of-the-box thought and creativity. They are excellent for computer science students studying the theory of algorithms, because often the same thought process that goes into solving the more difficult problems in that field are applicable to the puzzles in this book. The puzzles can be very difficult, and several were without solution for a very long time. There is also a group of Unsolved Puzzles at the end of the book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A different sort of puzzle book
Comment: An interesting aspect of this puzzle book is that the sections on the solutions are longer than those describing the problems! More than most puzzle books, you will find solutions described in great detail. The solutions in fact are the best part of the book!

Many of these puzzles are unbelievably difficult. In fact the last chapter contains a list of "unsolved puzzles", which is an amusing idea. Mathematicians will spend hours poring over these puzzles. This is distinctly different from any puzzle book I have ever bought! It is more for the mathematically inclined.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Some of the best puzzles ever published.
Comment: I have seen the word connoisseur used to describe collections before, but when I sat down to write this review I realized that I did not know the precise usage of the term. Therefore, I pulled out my Webster's dictionary and looked it up. It was "a person who has expert knowledge and keen discrimination in some field, esp. the fine arts or in matters of taste." In terms of keen discrimination, the term applies to the puzzles in this book. They are some of the best puzzles ever published, although those who follow the field will have seen many before, although perhaps in an altered form.
However, expert knowledge is not required to understand and solve the puzzles. The level of mathematical knowledge is that of detailed knowledge of basic algebraic and reasoning techniques. Like the very best puzzles, solving them requires a bit of "sideways" thinking. In other words, the most obvious approach to a puzzle will most likely lead to bafflement, but if you look at it just the right way, the solution is obvious. Furthermore, once the inspiration arrives, you know that you indeed have the solution.
In all honesty, I struggled with many of these puzzles. Sometimes, I was just being stupid, and other times I doubt if the solution would have ever managed to form in my thoughts. Fortunately, solutions to nearly all of the problems are included. The final chapter contains unsolved puzzles, which seems like a bit of a misnomer, and in a real sense it is. These are really unsolved problems, their topic is just one that fits inside what is generally considered the puzzle genre.
I loved this book, even when I was so frustrated I wanted to chop it with my very sharp axe. These puzzles will stretch you to the breaking point, which is of course a prerequisite for being among the best ever created.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: excellent choice
Comment: this book is interesting and challenging, even to people who have studied math at the college level. the problems are short, and take about an hour to solve, at least they did for me. it was a great read and i highly recommend this as a gift for the math lover in your life.

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