Abstract
There should be a considerable demand for Mr. Dakin's book, as it contains just the sort of mathematics that is required by those who have to learn some elementary mathematical processes for practical use: decimals, mensuration and a few other topics in arithmetic, algebraic formulae and equations, graphical methods, the geometry of rectilinear figures, similar figures, the circle and the sphere, with some numerical trigonometry. The treatment is very pleasant, and the student who uses the book will certainly fail to experience the aridity that the popular mind associates with mathematics. Mr. Dakin's account of graphs is particularly good; the introductory portion with the comparison and correlation graphs cannot but grip the student's interest, and make him feel that the method of graphs is worth acquiring. Historical notes are incorporated in the main text, and occasionally they are worked in very skilfully. Presumably the tables are given the title “logarithmic tables” from force of habit: they contain only natural trigonometrical ratios.
Practical Mathematics.
By A. Dakin. Part 1. (Mathematical Series for Schools and Colleges.) Pp. viii + 362 + 12 + xxiv. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 5s.
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B., S. Practical Mathematics . Nature 110, 375 (1922). https://doi.org/10.1038/110375b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/110375b0