The Math Gene by Devlin, Keith -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Title Page Table of Figures Acknowledgements PROLOGUE 1 - A MIND FOR MATHEMATICS

NOT ENOUGH TIME IT’S NOT JUST NUMBERS WHAT IS MATHEMATICS? THE SCIENCE OF PATTERNS WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A MATHEMATICAL MIND? THE PUZZLE OF BRAIN SIZE

2 - IN THE BEGINNING IS NUMBER

THE NUMBER SENSE THE HORSE THAT DIDN’T KNOW 2 + 2 = 4 AND THE RAT THAT DID WHAT ABOUT THE CHIMPANZEES? THE RISE AND FALL OF PIAGET CAN BABIES COUNT? BUT CAN THEY ADD? BUTTERWORTH’S CASEBOOK

3 - EVERYBODY COUNTS

THE COUNTER CULTURE SYMBOLS OF SUCCESS NUMBERS IN THE MIND THE SOUND OF NUMBER THE CHINESE ADVANTAGE WHY MATHEMATICS SEEMS ILLOGICAL

4 - WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED MATHEMATICS?

THE NATURE OF THE BEAST HOW DO MATHEMATICIANS GET INTO SHAPE? THE GEOMETRY OF ANIMAL COAT PATTERNS THE GEOMETRY OF FLOWERS THE PATTERNS OF BEAUTY THE EYE CANNOT SEE WHY EVEN MATHEMATICAL LONERS LIKE TO WORK IN GROUPS NOW FOR THE REALLY HEAVY STUFF

5 - DO MATHEMATICIANS HAVE DIFFERENT BRAINS?

THE STRANGE CASE OF EMILY X HOW DO MATHEMATICIANS THINK? THE FOUR LEVELS OF ABSTRACTION LIVING AMONG SYMBOLS SOME CAN, SOME CAN’T—OR CAN THEY? INSIDE THE HOUSE, OCCASIONALLY LOOKING OUT HERE’S LOOKING AT EUCLID BACK INSIDE THE HOUSE INVENTION OR DISCOVERY?

6 - BORN TO SPEAK

DID SHAKESPEARE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE? VARIATIONS ON A SINGLE THEME WORDS IN BOXES THE KEY TO SYNTAX HOW DO TWO-YEAR-OLDS MANAGE TO LEARN ALL THIS STUFF?

7 - THE BRAIN THAT GREW AND LEARNED TO TALK

TWO PUZZLES ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE HOW A LARGE METEOR LED TO SMARTER APES TO SURVIVE IN THE WIDE OPEN SPACES—ACT SMART! WALK TALL, THINK SMART, AND COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY THE DOG THAT CAN LEARN NEW TRICKS FOLLOWING THE LEARNING CURVE

8 - OUT OF OUR MINDS

WHAT’S YOUR TYPE? TELL ME ABOUT IT SYMBOLS OF PROGRESS SYMBOLS FOR SYMBOLS CREATURES THAT CHANGE THE FACE OF THE EARTH SEWING THE COMMON THREAD OF ALL LANGUAGES THE ATTRACTOR THEORY LINGUISTIC EVE SMALL CHANGE, BIG EFFECT CROSSING THE SYMBOLIC RUBICON IN A WORLD OF OUR OWN THE SYMBOLIC MIND LIGHTS UP

9 - WHERE DEMONS LURK AND MATHEMATICIANS WORK

HE SAID, SHE SAID OH, THAT PI—HE’S SO IRRATIONAL, YOU KNOW! BARBIE WAS RIGHT WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE SAY THEY CAN’T DO MATH? RIGHT ANSWER, WRONG REASON

10 - ROADS NOT TAKEN EPILOGUE APPENDIX - The Hidden Structure of Everyday Language REFERENCES INDEX A NOTE ABOUT THE TYPE Copyright Page