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Interviews | December 28, 2009

Megan: IMG Finding Lost Lore: The Powells.com Interview with Paul Jenner

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unamcgovernandpauljennerPerhaps there's a line graph somewhere that explains the correlation between an abundance of available technology and one's increased interest in... Continue »
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    Lost Lore: A Celebration of Traditional Wisdom from Foraging and Festivals to Seafaring and Smoke Signals

    Una McGovern and Paul Jenner
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The Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe

by Michael S. Schneider

The Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The universe may be a mystery, but it's no secret.

Michael Schneider leads us on a spectacular, lavishly illustrated journey along the numbers one through ten to explore the mathematical principles made visible in flowers, shells, crystals, plants, and the human body, expressed in the symbolic language of folk sayings and fairy tales, myth and religion, art and architecture. This is a new view of mathematics, not the one we learned at school but a comprehensive guide to the patterns that recur through the universe and underlie human affairs. A Beginner's Guide to Constructing, the Universe shows you:

  • Why cans, pizza, and manhole covers are round.

  • Why one and two weren't considered numbers by the ancient Greeks.

  • Why squares show up so often in goddess art and board games.

  • What property makes the spiral the most widespread shape in nature, from embryos and hair curls to hurricanes and galaxies.

  • How the human body shares the design of a bean plant and the solar system.

  • How a snowflake is like Stonehenge, and a beehive like a calendar.

  • How our ten fingers hold the secrets of both a lobster and a cathedral.

  • And much more.

Review:

"Highly informative . . . [shows] Schneider's particular gift of transforming everyday experience into something magical . . . Highly recommended." New Frontier

Synopsis:

An imaginative tour of the numbers one through ten that illustrates how they consistently recur in everything from nature, technology, art, and science to mythology and the unconscious in archetypal patterns and principles. Richly illustrated with computer graphics and classical art.

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About the Author

Michael S. Schneider is an educator developing new perceptions of nature, science, art, and mathematics, holding workshops for teachers, artists, architects, and children concerning nature's numerical language. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and a Master's Degree in Math Education from the University of Florida. He was a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar in India and taught in public schools for eleven years. An education writer and computer consultant, he designed the geometry harmonizing the statues at the entrance to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where he lives.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
mpower, May 10, 2007 (view all comments by mpower)
I'm fascinated with the description/topic as described in the synopsis. Had I seen the book on the shelf I may not have grabbed it because I don't like the word "beginner", and I think the word "construction" is missleading. Also, "Mathematical archetypes" is a pretty heady term for "beginners".
In light of that, I'm doing research on the subject and would love to read the book.
Hope it reads like the synopsis and not like the title.
From what I can see of the cover, it looks busy----again, if I'm a beginner, I want it simple,
Hope this helps
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060926717
Subtitle:
The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science
Author:
Schneider, Michael S.
Author:
by Michael S. Schneider
Author:
by Michael S. Schneider
Publisher:
Harper Paperbacks
Location:
New York, NY :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Philosophy
Subject:
Mathematics
Subject:
Philosophy & Social Aspects
Subject:
Geometry - General
Subject:
Number Theory
Subject:
Astronomy
Subject:
Popular works
Subject:
Mathematics -- Philosophy.
Subject:
Astronomy - General
Subject:
General science
Copyright:
c199
Edition Description:
1st HarperPerennial ed.
Series Volume:
no. 639
Publication Date:
November 1995
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
384
Dimensions:
9.34x7.36x1.06 in. 1.13 lbs.
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