Mathematical Puzzle Tales

"Martin offers everybody (not just mathematicians) creative refuge for the imagination. The puzzles in this book are not just puzzles. Very often, they embody deep mathematical principles that deal with matters not yet well enough understood to be applied to the practical world. Such "games" are not more trivial than "real" mathematics. They may well be more important and may be the foreshadowing of future mathematics." - Isaac Asimov from the Preface. The MAA is proud to reissue this collection of thirty-six stories taken from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Brilliant, and amusing, these brainteasers will help you sharpen your wits and prepare for takeoff into uncharted universes of the future. The challenging problems presented here are based on geometry, logarithms, topology, probability, weird number sequences, logic, and virtually every other aspect of mathematics as well as wordplay. Included are: Lost on Capra; Space Pool; Machismo on Byronia; The Third Dr. Moreau; The Voyage of the Bagel; The Great Ring of Neptune; The Postage Stamps of Philo Tate; Captain Tittlebaum's Tests; The Three Robots of Professor Tinker; How Bagson Bagged a Board Game; The Explosion of Blabbage's Oracle; No Vacancy at the Aleph-Null Inn... and more.