Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles . I believe that the teaching of applied mathematics needs a fresh approach. That opinion seems to be widely shared. Certainly there are things that will never be different-but even for the solution of Laplace's equation a great deal is new. Topics like stability and optimization and matrix methods have earned a more central place-perhaps at the expense of series solutions of differential equations.
Applied mathematics is alive and very vigorous.
That ought to be reflected in our teaching. In my own class I became convinced that the textbook is crucial. It must provide a framework into which the applications will fit. A good course has a clear purpose, and you can sense that it is there. It is a pleasure to teach a subject when it is moving forward, and this one is-but the book has to share in that spirit and help to establish it.