Mathematics and Technology [Paperback]

This book introduces the student to numerous modern applications of mathematics in technology. The authors write with clarity and present the mathematics in a clear and straightforward way making it an interesting and easy book to read. Numerous exercises at the end of every section provide practice and reinforce the material in the chapter. An engaging quality of this book is that the authors also present the mathematical material in a historical context and not just the practical one.

Mathematics and Technology is intended for undergraduate students in mathematics, instructors and high school teachers. Additionally, its lack of calculus centricity as well as a clear indication of the more difficult topics and relatively advanced references make it suitable for any curious individual with a decent command of high school math.

The authors present elegant mathematical concepts such as Markov chains, function iteration and simple groups, and develop these concepts, applying them to important practical problems such as web-navigation, data compression and error correcting codes.

Of what use is mathematics? Hasnt everything in mathematics already been disc- ered? Thesearenaturalquestionsoftenaskedbyundergraduates. Theanswersprovided by their professors are often quite brief. Most university courses, pressed for time and rigidly structured, o?er little opportunity to present and study actual applications and real-world examples. Evenmorehigh-schoolstudentsaskthesamequestionswithmoreinsistence. Tea- ers in these schools generally work under even tighter constraints than university prof- sors. If they are able to competently respond to these questions it is probably because they received good answers from their teachers and professors. And if they do not have the answers, then whose fault is it? The genesis of this text It is impossible to introduce this text without ?rst discussing the course in which it originated. Tl“\