The Beauty of Everyday Mathematics

Imagine that you’ve finally found a parking space after a long and harrowing search, but are now encountering some difficulty in trying to enter this space. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew a formula that allowed you to enter the space without difficulty? Are you annoyed because your soda can doesn’t remain upright during a picnic? Would you like to know why a mirror swaps right and left, but not top and bottom? Are you looking for a mathematical speech to toast your mother-in-law’s 85th birthday? Or do you want to give your heart away mathematically? Dr. Norbert Herrmann provides amusing and entertaining solutions to these and many other problems that we encounter in everyday situations.

“A book for teachers, students of mathematics, and anybody who likes unusual and amusing calculations.”

• The Leg Problem - Integral Calculus
• The Mirror Problem - Linear Algebra
• The Parallel Parking Problem - Differential Calculus
• The Slippery Ice Problem - Differential Equations
• The Soda Can Problem- Integral Calculus

From the reviews:

“The book offers a collection of thirteen problems that may be encountered in everyday life. The problems are easy to understand, and their mathematical interpretation is not too demanding. … book is attractive for a more wide range of readership, including university students, mathematicians, scientists, and people looking for entertainment in an educational setting. Teachers of mathematics at college or at undergraduate level may find interesting ideas here, as well as examples for projects linking mathematics with real life problems.” (Kiril Bankov, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 98 (541), March, 2014)

“Norbert Herrmann takes an amusing and entertaining look at thirteen ‘real life’ mathematical issues encountered everyday. … Mathematicians look at the world in a particular way and hopefully this book, which is accessible to A-level mathematics students, will inspire students to look at the world with mathematical eyes.” (Steve Humble, Mathematics Today, Vol. 49 (6), December, 2013)

“In this entertaining book, Herrmann … takes some problems that people encounter during their daily activities and provides unique and amusing solutions. The book is divided into 13 chapters, each containing a problem and several different solutions. The chapters end with additional comments, remarks, or other related problems. … This book is useful for teachers of mathematics, undergraduate and graduate math majors, and anyone who enjoys unusual mathematical calculations. … Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic, professional, and general audiences, all levels.” (J. A. Bakal, Choice, Vol. 49 (9), May, 2012)

“The Beauty of Everyday Mathematics is a collection of thirteen problems of the type one may encounter in everyday life, hence the title. … The goal of the book is to show you how and where mathematics fits into your life. … It’s quite a short book, only 134 pages with lots of diagrams, equations, and explanatory text. … This book offers interesting problems and thoughtful solutions. It’s worth your time to read and then, if you like it, pass along for others to enjoy.” (David S. Mazel, The Mathematical Association of America, February, 2012)

“This is a very interesting and amusing book, devoted to many elementary and unexpected questions of everyday mathematics. … The problems are clearly expressed and also solutions are given. I recommend this book not only to young mathematicians, but also to all who want to exercise their minds in analyzing the life around them. There is a useful index along with the references.” (Maria Scafati Tallini, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2012 h)

• Institut für Angewandte Mathematik, Hannover, Germany

  Norbert Herrmann

Policies and ethics