A Mathematical Nature Walk - by John Adam (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

How heavy is that cloud? Why can you see farther in rain than in fog? Why are the droplets on that spider web spaced apart so evenly? If you have ever asked questions like these while outdoors, and wondered how you might figure out the answers, this is a book for you. An entertaining and informative collection of fascinating puzzles from the natural world around us, A Mathematical Nature Walk will delight anyone who loves nature or math or both.

John Adam presents ninety-six questions about many common natural phenomena--and a few uncommon ones--and then shows how to answer them using mostly basic mathematics. Can you weigh a pumpkin just by carefully looking at it? Why can you see farther in rain than in fog? What causes the variations in the colors of butterfly wings, bird feathers, and oil slicks? And why are large haystacks prone to spontaneous combustion? These are just a few of the questions you'll find inside. Many of the problems are illustrated with photos and drawings, and the book also has answers, a glossary of terms, and a list of some of the patterns found in nature. About a quarter of the questions can be answered with arithmetic, and many of the rest require only precalculus. But regardless of math background, readers will learn from the informal descriptions of the problems and gain a new appreciation of the beauty of nature and the mathematics that lies behind it.

From the Back Cover

"Finally a book that shows the general reader how mathematics can explain the natural phenomena that we continuously encounter but rarely understand. John Adam answers questions about nature's secrets--many of which we haven't even thought to ask. This is a delightful book."--Alfred S. Posamentier, coauthor of The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers

"John Adam's A Mathematical Nature Walk is a true gem of popular scientific writing. He adroitly does what all good science writers should do: he inspires readers first to observe and then to analyze the world outside their windows."--Raymond Lee, author of The Rainbow Bridge

"With a mathematician's eye and a playful wit, John Adam takes a walk through the woods and returns with stories aplenty! His narratives are about nature and how things work, about looking analytically at the world around us, and about the art of creating mathematical models. For anyone with a mathematical bent who has ever asked 'what is that?, ' this book will provide an interesting read and a valuable resource."--Kenneth G. Libbrecht, author of The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty

"Do not miss this memorable walk with John Adam, filled with delightful surprises that bring together nature, mathematics, and the infectious pleasure of thought, culminating in a special kind of wonder."--Peter Pesic, author of Sky in a Bottle

"For generations, field guides to plants and animals have sharpened the pleasure of seeing by opening our minds to understanding. Now John Adam has filled a gap in that venerable genre with his painstaking but simple mathematical descriptions of familiar, mundane physical phenomena. This is nothing less than a mathematical field guide to inanimate nature."--Hans Christian von Baeyer, author of Information: The New Language of Science

"When you see a spider's web bedecked with morning dew like strings of pearls or the lazy bends in a distant river valley, you are seeing mathematics as well as beauty. You will find equations in A Mathematical Nature Walk for the evanescent colors of the sky--as well as for why you can't fly over a rainbow. John Adam can help you see a world of algebra in a drop of water, and a Fibonacci sequence in a wild flower."--Neil Downie, author of Vacuum Bazookas, Electric Rainbow Jelly, and 27 Other Saturday Science Projects

"John Adam presents a wonderful set of mathematical inquiries into a broad range of natural phenomena. This rich book will be interesting to mathematically minded readers who are inspired by nature."--Will Wilson, Duke University

"In A Mathematical Nature Walk, John Adam encourages readers to explore everyday observations of the natural world from a mathematical point of view. The problems are presented in an engaging style and most of the mathematics is well within the grasp of beginning college students."--Brian Sleeman, University of Leeds

Review Quotes

"[A] snappy guide to the mathematics of the outdoors. . . . A sharp eye and an ingenious mind are at work on every page. . . . Read this book with pencil and paper in hand. Then go forth, enjoy the view, and impress your friends."---Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History

"[A]dam's love of both nature and mathematics is obvious, and his chatty style and sense of humour--look out for the question about spontaneously combusting haystacks--enliven a book that will get readers thinking as well as itching for a pleasant stroll."-- "Physics World"

"[S]urprising and entertaining. . . . Adam's book is lucidly written, making it suitable for people of all ages."-- "Good Book Guide"

"A catalogue of playful inquiries and their mathematical solutions."-- "Conservation Magazine"

"Adam has written a terrific book that takes his earlier work a step further. . . . [T]his is a well written guide not only to seeing our world with simplified and useful models and mathematics, but to asking good questions of what we see and then answering those questions on our own. I found the book delightful, engaging, and interesting. It's written for anyone with a calculus background, and that's all one needs. If you're looking for a fun book with a touch of complexity, this is a good one."---David S. Mazel, MAA Reviews

"For teachers who are interested in seeing how what they teach might be used or for students or parents who might be interested in seeing how mathematics might be used, this is an intriguing book."-- "Mathematics Teacher"

"If you are a walker, as I am, your daypack probably contains sunscreen, a poncho, a floppy hat, and a pair of binoculars. After reading this snappy guide to the mathematics of the outdoors, by John Adam, a professor of mathematics at Old Dominion University in Virginia, you might consider tossing in a programmable calculator. . . . A sharp eye and an ingenious mind are at work on every page. . . . Read this book with pencil and paper in hand. Then go forth, enjoy the view, and impress your friends."-- "Natural History"

"Indeed, Adam has deliberately reworked topics treated in Mathematics in Nature to make them accessible to a larger audience. Beyond insights into specific questions about nature, the general reader will find here a remarkably lucid explanation of how mathematicians create a formulaic model that mimics the key features of some natural phenomenon. Adam particularly highlights the importance in this process of solving inverse problems. Ordinary math becomes adventure."-- "Booklist"

"Mathematics professor John Adam has come up with a novel combination. This book will provide anyone with a solid grounding in mathematics with enough conversation starters to keep fellow walkers' brains working as hard as their legs."---Dominic Lenton, Engineering & Technology

"The dedicated reader stands a lot to gain from delving into the text and thinking hard about the problems posed. As the saying goes, 'mathematics is not a spectator sport, ' so if this book is read with pencil and paper at hand, to scribble along and confirm understanding of the mathematical trains of thought--all the better."---Philip McIntosh, Suite101.com

"There are now few (if any) areas of science where mathematics does not play a role and, by extension, many of the sights and sounds of nature can be studied using mathematics. This is the motivation behind A Mathematical Nature Walk by John Adam, which considers some of the natural phenomena that might be encountered on a walk in the countryside (or even just a wander around one's own garden)."---Sarah Shepherd, iSquared

About the Author

John A. Adam is professor of mathematics at Old Dominion University. He is the coauthor of Guesstimation: Solving the World's Problems on the Back of a Cocktail Napkin and the author of Mathematics in Nature (both Princeton).