Sam Loyd's Mathematical Puzzles Continued

Author: Martin Gardner
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: This is the second and final volume of mathematical puzzles compiled from Sam Loyd's monumental work, "Cyclopedia of Puzzles," edited by his son and published in 1914 after his death. Although these two volumes do not encompass all of Loyd's mathematical treasures, they indeed capture the essence of this extraordinary work. Moreover, with so few good puzzles of this kind remaining in the "Cyclopedia," it would be impossible to compile a third volume. As before, the text has been carefully edited to ensure clarity and accuracy while preserving Loyd's style. Readers should note that many algebraic problems without illustrations in the book are of very high quality. In the "Cyclopedia," most of these puzzles are accompanied by highly humorous illustrations, but these illustrations are not essential to the problems themselves. To save space, the editors have removed them, including many shorter ones. Among these, the more challenging problems involving speed and distance are recommended to all students hoping to master calculus. Before tackling non-uniform motion problems, it is essential to understand the concept of uniform motion, and Loyd's challenging puzzles provide excellent practice—provided, of course, that you are the kind of person who never looks at the answers and insists on solving problems independently. The puzzles in this book include arithmetic and algebra problems, game theory problems, operations research problems, clock problems, geometric dissection problems, path and topology problems, chip and slider problems, physics and calculus problems, and more. Approximately 150 illustrations from the original "Cyclopedia of Puzzles," humorous and vivid, add much charm to the book.