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Main page » Fiction literature » The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi: The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time


The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi: The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time

 
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The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi: The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time
Marcel Danesi

A walk through history's most mind-boggling puzzles
Ever since the Sphinx asked his legendary riddle of Oedipus, riddles, conundrums, and puzzles of all
sizes have kept humankind perplexed and amused. The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi takes die-hard
puzzle mavens on a tour of the world's most enduringly intriguing braintwisters, from Königsberg's
Bridges and the Hanoi Towers to Fibonacci's Rabbits, the Four Color Problem, and the Magic Square. Each
chapter introduces the basic puzzle, discusses the mathematics behind it, and includes exercises and
answers plus additional puzzles similar to the one under discussion. Here is a veritable kaleidoscope of
puzzling labyrinths, maps, bridges, and optical illusions that will keep aficionados entertained for
hours.

Review
"As an undergraduate math major, I studied various areas of mathematics as if under a sequence of
microscopes. I had no clear picture of what mathematics as a whole was about. Here is a book, based on
ten great puzzles, that provides that much needed view from 40,000 feet. Big concepts such as topology,
combinatorics, logic, the infinite, and many others come into clear view at this altitude. For those
seeking more detail, there is always the option to land and explore a host of mathematical issues,
puzzles and related references. Danesi’s approach to relating difficult material is seductive."
—Sam Savage, Consulting Professor, Stanford University and Inventor of the Shmuzzle™ Puzzle.

CONTENTS:
The Riddle of the Sphinx
Alcuin’s River-Crossing Puzzle
Fibonacci’s Rabbit Puzzle
Euler’s Königsberg Bridges Puzzle
Guthrie’s Four-Color Problem
Lucas’s Towers of Hanoi Puzzle
Loyd’s Get Off the Earth Puzzle
Epimenides’ Liar Paradox
The Lo Shu Magic Square
The Cretan Labyrinth

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Tags: Hanoi, Towers, Paradox, puzzles, Puzzles