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Title details for Magical Mathematics by Persi Diaconis - Available

Magical Mathematics

The Mathematical Ideas that Animate Great Magic Tricks

by Persi Diaconis
Ron Graham
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

The mathematics behind some of the world's most amazing card tricks
Magical Mathematics reveals the secrets of fun-to-perform card tricks—and the profound mathematical ideas behind them—that will astound even the most accomplished magician. Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham provide easy, step-by-step instructions for each trick, explaining how to set up the effect and offering tips on what to say and do while performing it. Each card trick introduces a new mathematical idea, and varying the tricks in turn takes readers to the very threshold of today's mathematical knowledge.
Diaconis and Graham tell the stories—and reveal the best tricks—of the eccentric and brilliant inventors of mathematical magic. The book exposes old gambling secrets through the mathematics of shuffling cards, explains the classic street-gambling scam of three-card Monte, traces the history of mathematical magic back to the oldest mathematical trick—and much more.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 23, 2011

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781400839384
      • File size: 9450 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781400839384
      • File size: 9450 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2011

      Well known and highly respected in the mathematical community, Diaconis (statistics & mathematics, Stanford Univ.) and Graham (computer science & engineering, Univ. of California, San Diego) have produced a work that completely lives up to expectations. It contains descriptions of magic tricks as viewed by an audience, the mathematics that make them possible, and clear explanations (including photographs) to help you--with a little practice--amaze your friends. The book also contains biographic and historic information about magic and magicians. A word of warning: this book is mostly free of the pages of abstruse algebraic formulas you may associate with mathematics, but some of the concepts discussed are far from simple to grasp. VERDICT As Martin Gardner's 1956-81 "Mathematical Games" column in Scientific American proved, many people enjoy mathematical entertainment. This book should find a reception among them, along with anyone who likes being mystified by a magic trick and immediately wants to know how it's done.--Harold D. Shane, Baruch Coll. of CUNY

      Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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