Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Contents
- The Mystery of the Four-leaf Clovers
- A Fugue
- Tombstone Inscriptions
- The Two Lights
- MMM
- Acquiring Some Personal Items for MMM
- Difficulty in Explaining Relativity Theory in a Few Words
- Difficulty in Obtaining a Cup of Hot Tea
- Hail to Thee, Blithe Spirit
- C. D.
- Cupid's Problem
- The Lighter Life of an Editor
- The Two Kellys
- Some Debts
- Hypnotic Powers
- Founding the Echols Mathematics Club
- Meeting Maurice Fréchet
- Mathematizing the New Mathematics Building
- Finding Some Lost Property Corners
- The Tennessee Valley Authority
- How I First Met Dr. Einstein
- Catching Vibes, and Kindred Matters
- A Pair of Unusual Walking Sticks
- A New Definition
- Dr. Einstein's First Public Address at Princeton
- Parting Advice
- Two Newspaper Items and a Phone Call
- Wherein the Author Is Beasted
- The Scholar's Creed
- The Perfect Game of Solitaire
- The Most Seductive Book Ever Written
- The Master Geometer
- Sandy
- The Perfect Parabola
- Three Coolidge Remarks
- Professor Coolidge during Examinations
- Professor Coolidge's Test
- Borrowing Lecture Techniques from Admired Professors
- My Teaching Assistant Appointment
- A Night in the Widener Memorial Library
- The Slit in the Wall
- Nathan Altshiller Court
- An Editorial Comment
- Intimations of the Future
- A Rival Field
- A Chinese Lesson
- The Bookbag
- Running a Mile in Twenty-one Seconds
- Winning the 1992 Pólya Award
- A Love Story
- Eves' Photo Album
- A Condensed Biography of Howard Eves
- An Abridged Bibliography of Howard Eves' Work
The Most Seductive Book Ever Written
- Frontmatter
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Contents
- The Mystery of the Four-leaf Clovers
- A Fugue
- Tombstone Inscriptions
- The Two Lights
- MMM
- Acquiring Some Personal Items for MMM
- Difficulty in Explaining Relativity Theory in a Few Words
- Difficulty in Obtaining a Cup of Hot Tea
- Hail to Thee, Blithe Spirit
- C. D.
- Cupid's Problem
- The Lighter Life of an Editor
- The Two Kellys
- Some Debts
- Hypnotic Powers
- Founding the Echols Mathematics Club
- Meeting Maurice Fréchet
- Mathematizing the New Mathematics Building
- Finding Some Lost Property Corners
- The Tennessee Valley Authority
- How I First Met Dr. Einstein
- Catching Vibes, and Kindred Matters
- A Pair of Unusual Walking Sticks
- A New Definition
- Dr. Einstein's First Public Address at Princeton
- Parting Advice
- Two Newspaper Items and a Phone Call
- Wherein the Author Is Beasted
- The Scholar's Creed
- The Perfect Game of Solitaire
- The Most Seductive Book Ever Written
- The Master Geometer
- Sandy
- The Perfect Parabola
- Three Coolidge Remarks
- Professor Coolidge during Examinations
- Professor Coolidge's Test
- Borrowing Lecture Techniques from Admired Professors
- My Teaching Assistant Appointment
- A Night in the Widener Memorial Library
- The Slit in the Wall
- Nathan Altshiller Court
- An Editorial Comment
- Intimations of the Future
- A Rival Field
- A Chinese Lesson
- The Bookbag
- Running a Mile in Twenty-one Seconds
- Winning the 1992 Pólya Award
- A Love Story
- Eves' Photo Album
- A Condensed Biography of Howard Eves
- An Abridged Bibliography of Howard Eves' Work
Summary
Occasionally, when a group of people get together enjoying one another's company, someone will bring up the old hypothetical situation of a lone castaway stranded on a desert island. The island is “friendly,” in the sense that it possesses a mild equitable climate and a plentiful supply of easily obtained food. Since the island is far from all sea lanes and air routes, the stranded individual knows he will remain there alone, unrescued, for a considerable time, perhaps years. Now if this individual can wish to have any book he desires washed ashore in a waterproof container, what book should he choose to help him while away his long lonely stay on the island?
Various answers have been given to the above question. At one gathering, an admirer of Elizabethan drama voted for a book containing the complete works of William Shakespeare; a good deal of time could be spent in a leisurely way enjoying the great masterpieces of this writer. A theologically inclined individual voted for an unexpurgated copy of the Christian Bible; he would have an opportunity to study this important work verse by verse. An armchair traveler voted for a complete atlas of the world; during his stay on the island this book would enable him to visit, in his imagination, every corner of the earth. There were a number of other worthy selections.
But to my mind there is a book that, for the purpose under consideration, vastly surpasses all other choices.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Mathematical Reminiscences , pp. 125 - 128Publisher: Mathematical Association of AmericaPrint publication year: 2001