Fun With Mathematics

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Laxman Singh Kothari : Born on 13th April 1926 at Udaipur (Rajasthan). Studied in Delhi University and did his Ph.D. from Bombay University in 1961.

He served with Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay from 1994 till 1961. In 1962 he joined Delhi University as Reader in Physics and was appointed Sir ShriRam Professor of Physics in 1963. He retired in 1991.

He was elected Fellow of the Indian National Scienge Academy in 1966.

His main research work was in the field of thermal neutron interation with solids. He has published nearly 170 research papers and over 25 students have worked with him for their Ph.D. degree. He has edited four books and written 6 books with colleagues. His book ‘Fun and Science at Home’ has been translated into Hindi and Tamil.

"The advancement and perfection of mathematics are intimately connected with the prosperity of the state"’— Napoleon Bonaparte.

"No other field can offer, to such an extent as mathematics, the joy of discovery, which is perhaps the greatest human joy.I know a schoolchild who was twelve years old when his first original mathematics result appeared in a mathematical journal one not meant for schools. In another field, that would hardly be conceivable"— Rozsa Peter.

If we have to spend some time in Tamil Nadu or Bengal, we must learn Tamil or Bengali to be able to freely communicate with the people there. Similarly, when we arrive in this world we must learn mathematics, because this is the only language Nature understands.

Like painting or writing poetry, mathematics is also a creative activity. Here one makes patterns with ideas. And like the paintings and poetry, patterns designed by mathematicians are also beautiful. However, the remarkable work in mathematics was done by men and women of a very young age.

Ramanujam, one of the top mathematicians of the last century died at an age of 32 years. The great mathematician Galvois (discoverer of Group Theory) died at the age of 21 years. Even though Newton lived to a ripe old age, most of his work was done around the age of 25 years.

It is therefore extremely important that in teaching mathematics to young children the joy of learning mathematics must be conveyed to them. It is only when they begin to enjoy the subject, they will think deeply about it:

The present book is an attempt to create interest in young students in mathematics and to show that mathematics is not just solving problems given in textbooks. It is a revised version of our earlier Hindi book, published by NCERT. Weare thankful to Shri Vipin Kumar for translating the Hindi version into English.