This comprehensive study traces the historic development of division in extreme and mean ratio ("the golden number") from its first appearance in Euclid's Elements through the 18th century. Features numerous illustrations.

Assisted by Scott Olsen ( Central Florida Community College, USA ). This volume is a result of the author's four decades of research in the field of Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Section and their applications. It provides a broad introduction to the fascinating and beautiful subject of the OC Mathematics of Harmony, OCO a new interdisciplinary direction of modern science. This direction has its origins in OC The ElementsOCO of Euclid and has many unexpected applications in contemporary mathematics (a new approach to a history of mathematics, the generalized Fibonacci numbers and the generalized golden proportions, the OC goldenOCO algebraic equations, the generalized Binet formulas, Fibonacci and OC goldenOCO matrices), theoretical physics (new hyperbolic models of Nature) and computer science (algorithmic measurement theory, number systems with irrational radices, Fibonacci computers, ternary mirror-symmetrical arithmetic, a new theory of coding and cryptography based on the Fibonacci and OC goldenOCO matrices). The book is intended for a wide audience including mathematics teachers of high schools, students of colleges and universities and scientists in the field of mathematics, theoretical physics and computer science. The book may be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students and even ambitious undergraduates in mathematics and computer science. Sample Chapter(s). Introduction (503k). Chapter 1: The Golden Section (2,459k). Contents: Classical Golden Mean, Fibonacci Numbers, and Platonic Solids: The Golden Section; Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers; Regular Polyhedrons; Mathematics of Harmony: Generalizations of Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Mean; Hyperbolic Fibonacci and Lucas Functions; Fibonacci and Golden Matrices; Application in Computer Science: Algorithmic Measurement Theory; Fibonacci Computers; Codes of the Golden Proportion; Ternary Mirror-Symmetrical Arithmetic; A New Coding Theory Based on a Matrix Approach. Readership: Researchers, teachers and students in mathematics (especially those interested in the Golden Section and Fibonacci numbers), theoretical physics and computer science."

This enlightening and gorgeously illustrated book explores the beauty and mystery of the divine proportion in art, architecture, nature, and beyond. From the pyramids of Giza, to quasicrystals, to the proportions of the human face, the golden ratio has an infinite capacity to generate shapes with exquisite properties. Author Gary Meisner has spent decades researching the subject, investigating and collaborating with people across the globe in dozens of professions and walks of life. In The Golden Ratio, he shares his enlightening journey. Exploring the long history of this fascinating number, as well as new insights into its power and potential applications, The Golden Ratio invites you to take a new look at this timeless topic.

Making up Numbers: A History of Invention in Mathematics offers a detailed but accessible account of a wide range of mathematical ideas. Starting with elementary concepts, it leads the reader towards aspects of current mathematical research. The book explains how conceptual hurdles in the development of numbers and number systems were overcome in the course of history, from Babylon to Classical Greece, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and so to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The narrative moves from the Pythagorean insistence on positive multiples to the gradual acceptance of negative numbers, irrationals and complex numbers as essential tools in quantitative analysis. Within this chronological framework, chapters are organised thematically, covering a variety of topics and contexts: writing and solving equations, geometric construction, coordinates and complex numbers, perceptions of ‘infinity’ and its permissible uses in mathematics, number systems, and evolving views of the role of axioms. Through this approach, the author demonstrates that changes in our understanding of numbers have often relied on the breaking of long-held conventions to make way for new inventions at once providing greater clarity and widening mathematical horizons. Viewed from this historical perspective, mathematical abstraction emerges as neither mysterious nor immutable, but as a contingent, developing human activity. Making up Numbers will be of great interest to undergraduate and A-level students of mathematics, as well as secondary school teachers of the subject. In virtue of its detailed treatment of mathematical ideas, it will be of value to anyone seeking to learn more about the development of the subject.

Topics in Mathematical Modeling is an introductory textbook on mathematical modeling. The book teaches how simple mathematics can help formulate and solve real problems of current research interest in a wide range of fields, including biology, ecology, computer science, geophysics, engineering, and the social sciences. Yet the prerequisites are minimal: calculus and elementary differential equations. Among the many topics addressed are HIV; plant phyllotaxis; global warming; the World Wide Web; plant and animal vascular networks; social networks; chaos and fractals; marriage and divorce; and El Niño. Traditional modeling topics such as predator-prey interaction, harvesting, and wars of attrition are also included. Most chapters begin with the history of a problem, follow with a demonstration of how it can be modeled using various mathematical tools, and close with a discussion of its remaining unsolved aspects. Designed for a one-semester course, the book progresses from problems that can be solved with relatively simple mathematics to ones that require more sophisticated methods. The math techniques are taught as needed to solve the problem being addressed, and each chapter is designed to be largely independent to give teachers flexibility. The book, which can be used as an overview and introduction to applied mathematics, is particularly suitable for sophomore, junior, and senior students in math, science, and engineering.