I wasn't stating that as the assumption - I was stating that they wouldn't be interested in reading a/book/ about it enough for it to be "classic," no matter how well it was written.
"Moby Dick" is a classic. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (sp?) is a classic.
The *lay person* won't find a *math book* worthy of being a "classic" anything. It will be, at best, something they read when they're feeling like dorks.
That being said, don't project your own interests onto the masses. The lay person simply
The lay person, on the other hand, is definately not going to be interested.
There's that assumption again. Your wife may not be interested in math, but fortunately there are other lay people who are. (And, frankly, anyone who is competent in calculus can't really be considered uninterested in math.)
This is an important issue because the future of our society depends on our ability to produce citizens who have the intellectual ability/curiosity to understand how the society actually works. Math is a big part of that understanding.
If we continue to marginalize "dorks" who read math books, then we're going to be in big trouble down the road.
(And, frankly, anyone who is competent in calculus can't really be considered uninterested in math.)
It's possible, for a good student to be competant in something that they're not interested in- simply because they ARE interested in something else that depends on that topic.
I would define interest transitively. Thus, if I am interested in A, which depends on B, I think it's reasonable to say that I'm interested in (at least) the subset of B that is relevant to A.
Without such interest, no one could ever learn a complex topic like calculus.
Note that A can be something very practical (like graduating from high school) at the same time that B is very abstract (like calculus).
I would define interest transitively. Thus, if I am interested in A, which depends on B, I think it's reasonable to say that I'm interested in (at least) the subset of B that is relevant to A.
But chances are, you're only interested in that subset- and will stop learning there.
Without such interest, no one could ever learn a complex topic like calculus.
Not entirely true- some people DO have an interest in mathematics for the sake of the mathematical puzzle- and for them, calculus is a shortcut to the t
An inclined plane is a slope up. -- Willard Espy, "An Almanac of Words at Play"
lay person? (Score:4, Insightful)
Ummm...what would its peers be? Just how many "classic" math books does the lay-person have now?
Could it be that the lay-person wouldn't be interested in any book about math, no matter how well written?
I dunnnoooo...almost sounds completely probable.
Re:lay person? (Score:5, Insightful)
Martin Gardner's series of Mathematical Games books certainly qualifies as classic.
I would put some of Douglas Hofstadter's books in there too. Certainly _Godel, Escher, Bach_ is highly (though not entirely) mathematical.
Richard Smullyan also has a number of very good math/puzzle books.
There are others, too, but you get the idea. I don't think you need to be professional mathematician to enjoy any of these.
Re:lay person? (Score:1)
"Moby Dick" is a classic. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (sp?) is a classic.
The *lay person* won't find a *math book* worthy of being a "classic" anything. It will be, at best, something they read when they're feeling like dorks.
That being said, don't project your own interests onto the masses. The lay person simply
Re:lay person? (Score:2)
There's that assumption again. Your wife may not be interested in math, but fortunately there are other lay people who are. (And, frankly, anyone who is competent in calculus can't really be considered uninterested in math.)
This is an important issue because the future of our society depends on our ability to produce citizens who have the intellectual ability/curiosity to understand how the society actually works. Math is a big part of that understanding.
If we continue to marginalize "dorks" who read math books, then we're going to be in big trouble down the road.
Re:lay person? (Score:3, Funny)
I for one welcome our new, math-knowing, Finnish overloards!
And our math-knowing Korean overloards.
And our math-knowing... eh, forget it. At least we beat Portugal [go.com].
Re:lay person? (Score:2)
It's possible, for a good student to be competant in something that they're not interested in- simply because they ARE interested in something else that depends on that topic.
Re:lay person? (Score:2)
Without such interest, no one could ever learn a complex topic like calculus.
Note that A can be something very practical (like graduating from high school) at the same time that B is very abstract (like calculus).
Re:lay person? (Score:2)
But chances are, you're only interested in that subset- and will stop learning there.
Without such interest, no one could ever learn a complex topic like calculus.
Not entirely true- some people DO have an interest in mathematics for the sake of the mathematical puzzle- and for them, calculus is a shortcut to the t