The Book "A=B" - now downloadable | Hacker News Reader

The Book "A=B" - now downloadable

math.upenn.edu

50 pointsColinWright13 comments

This is worth reading for anyone who has even a passing interest in how "real" math is done. But it's hardly a new development that the book is available online... that web page has been up since at least 2008.

I don't know what you mean by "real math"... but Doron Zeilberger is a contrarian and their approach is quite different than that of most working mathematicians.

That said, the book is wildly original, absolutely brilliant, and much more accessible than most current math research.

I guess what I meant is something more serious than what most people have been exposed to. I didn't mean to imply that Zeilberger takes the same approach as other working mathematicians.

I agree though that his work tends to be more accessible. Another very accessible paper by one of the co-authors here, Herbert Wilf, is worth mentioning: http://www.math.clemson.edu/~calkin/Papers/calkin_wilf_recou...

FWIW, I have the printed version and it is one of the most beautiful books I own. Both the content and production quality are first-rate.

This is a great book but it has been downloadable since 2007, if not earlier.

Do wish the first page was the title page (instead of "intentionally left blank") as iBooks and other e-readers render the first page as the file's icon.

Also, for more excellent writing by Zeilberger, try this:

http://math.rejecta.org/vol1-num1/10-17

Be sure to scroll through until you find the Narrow-Minded and Ignorant Referee's Report.

His "opinions" page, http://www.math.rutgers.edu/~zeilberg/OPINIONS.html , is full of interesting reading.

When you say "interesting", do you mean that in a way that mocks Zeilberger, or is sympathetic to him?

I simply mean it in the sense of the dictionary definition:

   interesting |ˈint(ə)ristiNG, ˈintəˌrestiNG|
   adjective
   
   arousing curiosity or interest; holding or catching the
   attention: an interesting debate | it will be very
   interesting to see what they come up with.

The man writes on a variety of topics, and whether one agrees with his opinions or thinks they are weird (or both!), one should find them to arouse curiosity, and catch and hold ones attention--and hence they are "interesting".