Dude can you count

I love great fictional stories that explore math and science topics, but this one doesn't incorporate the math into the narrative. The writing is dry and unimaginative, despite featuring an alien as a main character.

Ho I stumbled across this one at the library. Hofstadter will give me a similar experience. Nov 28, James Carter rated it did not like it. When I got home to read it, I immediately became bored after two pages of a chance meeting between the narrator and an alien from some planet.

So, I began to skim through the pages, and all I can say was, "Damn, I am bored! I am actually a mathematician, but this book is literally for those who have spent too much time in ivory towers or don't have much of a soci I wished that I skimmed more into Dude, Can You Count? I am actually a mathematician, but this book is literally for those who have spent too much time in ivory towers or don't have much of a social life. All in all, the writing style of Dude, Can You Count?

Apr 28, afloatingpoint rated it it was amazing Shelves: mathematic. An unbelievably hilarious math book one could have ever read. Updated: Having a personal relationship with the author certainly causes me to have some bias in reviewing this book. To be as fair as possible, the first two chapters might be a bit boring, but trust me, it gets a lot better after that, especially if you love math. Sep 15, Thom rated it liked it Shelves: non-fiction. Started off well enough, very similar to the Number Devil.

Later chapters revealed that the veneer was not terribly clever, just thinly applied. Math and puzzles increased in difficulty through the book, and are recommended - but the rest was not terribly satisfying. Averages out to "liked it. Uday K Rao rated it liked it Nov 16, Jose Samper rated it it was ok Jul 19, Peggy A. Metzger rated it really liked it Jun 13, MathMonk rated it it was amazing May 25, Nhi Hin rated it it was amazing May 20, Civil Litigation. Statistics and Probability.

Academic Politics. Antisocial Behaviour. Mathematicians vs. The Evolution of Knowledge. The Virtues of Mathematics. Skip to main content. Search form Search. Login Join Give Shops. Halmos - Lester R. Ford Awards Merten M. Stories, Challenges, and Adventures in Mathematics. There is certainly a hint of this in the notion that according to the alien's criteria a person can be assigned a low intelligence rating merely because of their profession, and I fear that Constanda's reaction to the swinging of the pendulum too far in the direction of presumed equality may itself be too far in the other direction.

At least, that is my opinion, though I do not have any extraterrestrial corroboration for that belief. Perhaps the world would be a better place if everyone took Christian Constanda's messages to heart. As I've said, I do agree with many of his opinions. A serious book that presented convincing evidence for these viewpoints would be welcome. An entertaining, humorous book that contains interesting mathematical tidbits and conveyed a few of these ideas along the way would also be nice.

However, at least to me, this book was neither of those. Rather, it was a diatribe that was difficult to take seriously since the author seems a bit too curmudgeonly do I really need to be terribly upset when I ask someone "How are you?

As you said yourself, we are all entitled to our opinions, and if we happen to see certain things differently, this can only make debate more lively and life more exciting.

Let me start by saying that I am in full agreement with three of your statements. First, you are right to suspect that the book is not addressed to professional academic mathematicians - it is mainly for those who know some basic math and would like to learn more about it.

This is reflected, inter alia , in my choice of title and the book format: short chapters, puzzles and jokes that are largely unknown to non-mathematicians but very familiar to the likes of us , and "appendices" clearly designed for a reader who is not overly skilled in the handling of fundamental mathematical concepts. Sadly, for a segment of that class of readership Shakespeare is no longer a household name. Others, less fortunate, appear to have been shortchanged by today's instructional reality.

So, with great reluctance, the Bard of Avon was sent down to footnote land. Second, your comment on there being no stylistic difference between me and JJ when we talk to each other is quite correct.

In Dude 's original draft, my lines were more colloquial, with JJ's as you see them now, sober and to the point. But since this made the book resemble too much a work of pure fiction Springer is a scientific publisher and does not do that genre , I had to adjust the text accordingly. Strongly opinionated? Guilty as charged! However, I warn the reader about this in the Preface. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book". These two illustrious authors agree with each other, while the latter fulfils the prophecy of the earlier.

A long overdue and readable contribution in a refreshing style — but it may not make children behave. Logical reasoning and basic arithmetic facts are introduced through a sequence of lively discussions with the fictional character J. In the process, the reader journeys through a wealth of problems, often disguised as intriguing puzzles on mundane topics such as language, grammar, and punctuation, political correctness, TV advertising, modern art, buying cars, etc.

The book will prove to be a great source of enjoyment to any reader interested in logical reasoning and in seeing how mathematics is part of our daily life. At the same time, those teaching mathematics will find the book to be a wonderful resource of examples to be used to break the monotony of the daily classroom routine. He has managed to intertwine stories, puzzles, logic and some very rich mathematics concepts into a very readable, enjoyable novel. Although not preaching, he also gives his views as to what is wrong with the educational, legal, judicial and journalistic systems in America.

As I finished a chapter, I was always anxious to begin the next to see what problems, puzzles and stories lay ahead. He has included many classic logic puzzles and some interesting ones I had not seen before. He also makes it very clear to the reader at the end of the chapter what common errors students should avoid when studying their elementary math courses in high school. I believe this book should be in the personal library of every high school mathematics teacher because many of the puzzles and stories can be used as "fun" enrichment in the high school mathematics classroom.

Those teaching mathematics will find in the book a source of examples to be used to break the monotony of daily classroom routine. It is a very pleasant and interesting book!