Reddit Reddit reviews The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure

We found 23 Reddit comments about The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Children's Books
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Children's Literature
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure
Metropolitan Books
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23 Reddit comments about The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure:

u/reddilada · 14 pointsr/AskReddit
u/anttirt · 8 pointsr/math

I had a copy of The Number Devil when I was a kid and it was wonderful.

u/avocado_oclock · 7 pointsr/math

This might be a bit too basic, but I loved it as a child.

The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure

u/hausdorffparty · 6 pointsr/matheducation

I don't know what age, and students at that age vary wildly in level. However, there are a number of things I might suggest, for different parts of that age range:

The dragonbox app suite.

This link for a list of great toys/physical resources, sortable by age range.

Bedtime Math

Turing Tumble

https://scratch.mit.edu/ (Just let 'em play with making whatever they want to make!)

The book The Number Devil

u/[deleted] · 4 pointsr/philosophy

I am showing kids The Number Devil (Math's Devil) as it does a fantastic job teaching difficult concepts in an entertaining manner. I love R. Crumb made a graphic novel on Kafka which I am excited to buy. I will upload a megaupload/mediafire copy of Logicomix here, but it doesn't do it justice. You really should go out and buy it.

u/WinkyTheElf · 4 pointsr/math

I have a B.S. and M.S. in math, and am currently working on my PhD...here's my shot at your questions:

>1) At what point in your studies did you come to know about your limitations and abilities?

I didn't really have any struggles through my bachelor's, but as I got further into graduate studies I definitely had some hard classes and had to work much longer and harder to understand things than I ever had.

>I read about "Maryam Mirzakhani" two days ago. Do you think that you have a chance of producing worthy work in the future?

I don't think I'll ever win a Field's medal or be anywhere near the level of intelligence of someone like Maryam Mirzakhani, but I don't let that keep me from enjoying the journey. I know that I'll do something worthwhile, even if it's not groundbreaking.

>2) How did you choose your specific graduate program? I'm confused about what I should start with.

I was confused about what area to work in also, until I began studying for my comprehensive examinations (we have to take 3, each in different areas). I found that I really enjoyed studying the logic material, and I wasn't even too worried about the exam because enjoying the preparation made me well prepared. I just wanted to keep learning more. Just pick something that you find really interesting. It doesn't have to be "your area" for the rest of your life...you can always try something else later.

>3) How did you develop your critical thinking skills that are needed in following through with proofs and ideas?

The only way to get better at proofs as to do a ton of them. I had to get reamed pretty bad on some proofs at the beginning of grad school before I really got it...and I still have a long way to go. There's is always something to be improved upon.

There's a great excerpt from The Number Devil that sums up my feelings about proofs exactly:

"Have you ever tried to cross a raging stream?" the number devil asked.

"Have I?" Robert cried. "I'll say I have!"

"You can't swim across: the current would sweep you into the rapids. But there are a few rocks in the middle. So what do you do?"

"I see which ones are close enough together so I can leap from one to the next. If I'm lucky, I make it; if I'm not, I don't."

"That's how it is with mathematical proofs," the number devil told Robert. "But since mathematicians have spent a few thousand years finding ways to cross the stream, you don't need to start from scratch. You've got all kinds of rocks to rely on. They've been tested millions of times and are guaranteed slip-resistant. When you have a new idea, a conjecture, you look for the nearest safe rock, and from there you keep leaping--with the greatest of caution, of course--until you reach the other side, the shore."
...
"Sometimes the rocks are so far apart that you can't make it from one to the next, and if you try jumping, you fall in. Then you have to take tricky detours, and even they may not help in the end. You may come up with an idea, but then you find that it doesn't lead anywhere. Or you may find that your brilliant idea wasn't so brilliant at all."

u/CaliforniaSquonk · 3 pointsr/math

Does he have a DS? You can get him the Professor Layton games. There are some that are pure math. Others are puzzles.

I'd also look for the book "The Number Devil"

http://www.amazon.com/Number-Devil-Mathematical-Adventure/dp/0805062998/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289355197&sr=8-1

It presents some pretty sophisticated mathematical concepts (for a 13 year old) in an easy to understand way. Don't let the title scare off the religious folk

u/HeyHesRight · 3 pointsr/math

I too love fun math[s] books! Here are some of my favorites.

The Number Devil: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0805062998

The Mathematical Magpie: http://www.amazon.com/dp/038794950X

I echo the GEB recommendation. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0465026567

The Magic of Math: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0465054722

Great Feuds in Mathematics: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DNL19JO

One Equals Zero (Paradoxes, Fallacies, Surprises): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1559533099

Genius at Play - Biography of J.H. Conway: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1620405938

Math Girls (any from this series are fun) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0983951306

Mathematical Amazements and Surprises: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1591027233

A Strange Wilderness: The Lives of the Great Mathematicians: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1402785844

Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616147474

Enjoy!

u/TezlaKoil · 3 pointsr/math

The Number Devil is for kids, but I read it as adult and it was fun.The first part of Playing with Infinity could be accessible as well.

u/EdmundH · 3 pointsr/math

His love of math is the most important thing to preserve. Do look for local math circles and places he can play with math, rather than simply doing it. It is not simply about going to the next level of the school progression. Get him math toys if you can. I have some suggestions for resources.

For your son's age a couple of things that might also be useful are the books Math Circles for 3-7 year olds and The Number devil.

(I am a math professor, but have worked with bright kids in this age group in a variety of ways)

u/esk_209 · 3 pointsr/Parenting

One of my favorite things to do (I'm a big numbers-fan. Not quite adept enough to be considered an actual math-geek, but enough to be a math-geek-groupie).

There's a great book called The Number Devil. I highly recommend it both for an adult read AND to read to your kids (2nd grade and up, maybe).

u/kabanaga · 3 pointsr/todayilearned

There's a great book with insights like this for young and old alike called The Number Devil
It helped my kids appreciate math a little more.

u/Teggus · 2 pointsr/math

The Turing Omnibus has a bit of that sort of thing. It is mainly focused on computer science, and features some anecdotes about the uses of the techniques explained. This book has a lot of contributors, so the tone varies a bit from chapter to chapter, but it introduces a lot of topics.

In Code examines the RSA (and goes into a bit of depth about Modular Arithmetic) as well as the author's exploration of an alternative encryption.

Aha! Insight and The Number Devil are good books too. They're both aimed at younger readers, and feature lots of illustrations but focus more on thinking about numbers (and problems) than the mechanics of doing calculations.

u/xoob · 2 pointsr/WTF

This was where I first saw this. Great book, btw.

http://www.amazon.com/Number-Devil-Mathematical-Adventure/dp/0805062998

u/etoet · 2 pointsr/math

How about The Number Devil? It might be a bit below the reading (and mathematical) level of a 15-year-old, but it brings up some really insightful ideas that highlight how basic principles can lead to really exciting results.

u/well_uh_yeah · 2 pointsr/education

He's right around the right age for The Number Devil.

He's also probably right in the age range that Goosebumps were meant for. I got my start reading Fear Street, but I gather that Goosebumps was a big, big hit for a later generation. I can't even tell you how much finding out that I loved the Fear Street books changed my life.

I'd also recommend magazines geared toward his age and whatever it is he's interested in. I used to get Sports Illustrated for Kids, for example, and loved it.

I think the key is letting him find something he wants to read by providing him a lot of variety and letting him tell you if he like it or not. My parents were really, really patient about it and my grades took some serious hits as I learned to really read on my own.

u/pistachioexplosion · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Ooo, I have a great one!
https://www.amazon.com/Number-Devil-Mathematical-Adventure/dp/0805062998
It's a children's book, but if you can overlook that, it has the best explanations of fundamental mathematics I've ever seen.
The idea is that a kid is fed up with his maths lessons, he can't see the point of questions like "If 2 pretsel makers make 444 pretsels in 6 hours, how long does it take 5 pretsel makers to make 88 pretsels?".
The falls asleep and the number devil comes to him in a dream and explains things like infinity, prime numbers, the fibonacci sequence etc.
It's amazing, I promise!

u/1066443507 · 2 pointsr/askphilosophy

You might also try reading Nagel's What Does it All Mean? with her:

>This book is a brief introduction to philosophy for people who don’t know the first thing about the subject. People ordinarily study philosophy only when they go to college… I would be very glad if the book were also of interest to intelligent high school students with a taste for abstract ideas and theoretical arguments… This is a direct introduction to nine philosophical problems, each of which can be understood in itself, without reference to the history of thought… The center of philosophy lies in certain questions which the reflective human mind finds naturally puzzling and the best way to begin the study of philosophy is to think about them directly

And I can't help but plug this math book for kids (more number theory than probability, but very, very good).

u/checkyourwork · 2 pointsr/matheducation

"The Number Devil" is a great book, lots of pictures, easy to read, but really has some neat mathematical concepts explained simply.

u/lukjad007 · 1 pointr/MLPLounge

This reminds me of the evil math teacher from this book. If any of you get these weird math problems and don't like it, you may really really enjoy this book.

u/toxicFork · 1 pointr/AskReddit

The number devil. I love math.

u/shachaf · 1 pointr/math

This is meant for younger children, probably, but The Number Devil is still an excellent children's book on many mathematical topics.