This weekend I was in a book store (remember those) and ran across this book – Beautiful Geometry.
A few minutes of looking at it, and I was on my way to the register to buy it.
Each chapter takes on a specific, interesting mathematical / geometric principle and takes a couple of pages to explore it. There’s a bit of history, some formulas, some images and diagrams and some practical uses.
The very first chapter, on Thales’ Theorem gave me an immediate realization on how I could solve a problem from Euclidea. Actually I had solved that problem, but had no clue how. Seeing and understanding Thales’ Theorem gave me instant understanding of how to solve the problem. I opened the app and solved it without a hitch.
I’ve gone through a few other chapters. Great stuff. I’ve worked a couple into future experiments in the BIT-101 Lab. I’m sure this book will fuel several more pieces there.
Note, this is NOT a coding book. There isn’t even really more than a passing reference to computers here. But it explains the concepts and formulas well, so you shouldn’t have much trouble applying the concepts to code.
Available on Amazon here: Beautiful Geometry
I got the hardcover, as that’s what was in the store and once I picked it up, I had to take it home. But you could get it much cheaper as a paperback or Kindle version.