"Nicely produced and concentrates on the informal analysis of geometrical patterns with the emphasis on
informality ... could serve as a useful collection of activities to precede a formal course and would provide a
range of intuitive experiences to which the more formal treatment could refer."
-- The Mathematical Gazette
"On the basis of this book it is possible to tailor a good course for high school students to really discover
mathematics ... for anyone who is working with high school students in an advanced level the book is really recommended."
-- Zentralblatt für Mathematik
"Written in a lively conversational style ... entertaining, and sometimes provoking, and will doubtlessly
prove useful to its intended audience."
-- Mathematical Reviews
American Library Association web site, March, 2000
Summary
In most mathematics textbooks, the most exciting part of mathematics--the process of invention and discovery--is
completely hidden from the reader. The aim of Groups and Symmetry is to change all that. By means of a series of
carefully selected tasks, this book leads readers to discover some real mathematics. There are no formulas to memorize;
no procedures to follow. The book is a guide: Its job is to start you in the right direction and to bring you back
if you stray too far. Discovery is left to you.
Suitable for a one-semester course at the beginning undergraduate level, there are no prerequisites for understanding
the text. Any college student interested in discovering the beauty of mathematics will enjoy a course taught from
this book. The book has also been used successfully with nonscience students who want to fulfill a science requirement.
Table of Contents
Squares, hexagons, and triangles
The rigid motions of the plane
Finite figures
Strip patterns
Wallpatterns
Finite groups
Cayley diagrams
Symmetry in the real world
