Ahmes’ Legacy, 1st ed. 2018 Puzzles and the Mathematical Mind Mathematics in Mind Series

This book looks at classic puzzles from the perspective of their structures and what they tell us about the brain. It uses the work on the neuroscience of mathematics from Dehaene, Butterworth, Lakoff, Núñez, and many others as a lens to understand the ways in which puzzles reflect imaginative processes blended with rational ones. The book is not about recreational or puzzle-based mathematics in and of itself but rather about what the classic puzzles tell us about the mathematical imagination and its impact on the discipline. It delves into the history of classic math puzzles, deconstructing their raison d?être and describing their psychological features, so that their nature can be fleshed out in order to help understand the mathematical mind.

1. Puzzles and Mathematics.- 2. An Archetype Theory of Puzzles.- 3. Puzzles and Discovery.- 4. Puzzles and Spatial Reasoning.- 5. The Mathematical Mind.- References.- Index.

Provides a rare look at the psychology and neuroscientific aspects of recreational mathematics and what it entails for understanding the mathematical mind Presents an overall picture of what pizzles mean for the origins and developments of mathematics Maintains a user-friendly level, while including more technical discussion of solutions in appendices for interested readers