The Mathematics of Oz: Mental Gymnastics from Beyond the Edge - Hardcover

'... this book is an excellent one ... anyone wishing to open it for the first time should be warned about the danger of becoming addicted to reading it on a regular basis.' Yuri V. Rogovchenko, Zentralblatt MATH

'A perpetual idea machine, Clifford Pickover is one of the most creative, original thinkers in the world today.' Journal of Recreational Mathematics

'Run, leap, scurry and scoot to your nearest bookstore and get his books.' BYTE

'Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas.' Christian Science Monitor

'Pickover is van Leeuwenhoek's twentieth century equivalent.' OMNI

'The Mathematics of Oz stands out from the crowd. There are enough challenges here to keep you away from the TV all Christmas.' New Scientist

'... the material in the book is not duplicated in other collections, and some of it is even new, a real rarity in recreational mathematics.' Underwood Dudley, author of Mathematical Cranks

'Readers cannot deny the wit, humor, and intelligent challenges Pickover demands of them. those who love solving puzzles will surely appreciate the whimsy and the sport.' Leonardo

'This is an excellent collection of mathematical problems and puzzles at all levels of mathematical sophistication ... The reader is guided to think about many interesting areas, and various methods are exploited and presented in a non-traditional way.' European Mathematical Society

'... [an] astounding collection of more than 100 puzzles ... Mathematics of Oz is a stimulating romp through often mind-bending terrain.' Science News

Grab a pencil. Relax. Then take off on a mind-boggling journey to the ultimate frontier of math, mind, and meaning as acclaimed author Dr Clifford Pickover, Dorothy, and Dr Oz explore some of the oddest and quirkiest highways and byways of the numerically obsessed. Prepare yourself for a shattering odyssey as The Mathematics of Oz unlocks the doors of your imagination. The thought-provoking mysteries, puzzles, and problems range from zebra numbers and circular primes to Legion's number - a number so big that it makes a trillion pale in comparison. The strange mazes, bizarre consequences, and dizzying arrays of logic problems will entertain people at all levels of mathematical sophistication. With numerous illustrations, this is an original, fun-filled, and thoroughly unique introduction to numbers and their role in creativity, computers, games, practical research, and absurd adventures that teeter on the edge of logic and insanity. The Mathematics of Oz will have you squirming in frustration and begging for more.