The Education of T.C. Mits: What modern mathematics means to you
First published in 1942 for distribution to American soldiers in WWII, this volume makes a fascinating bit of social history, but a reprint of dubious worth. An acronym for The Celebrated Man In The Street, T.C. Mits is very much a product of his time, an early experiment in the personalized style of mass communication which has become the norm. Like many Americans who fought in the war, everyman Mits has a limited education and little knowledge of the world beyond his home; this book offers him a series of short lessons in mathematical logic and its social utility: "The value of Science and Mathematics is not limited to the gadgets which they give us, but is also in their philosophy." In each lesson, a mathematical example or proof is described, whimsically illustrated (occasionally in proper mathematical graphs), and then extended to non-mathematical matters; e.g., an amusing jaunt through Einsteinian relativity results in this "Moral": "Adapt yourself to a continually CHANGING world." The light-hearted lessons and corny line drawings are charming, to be sure, but numerous "Why We Fight" asides railing against Hitler and totalitarianism make it more than a little dated, and its condescending tone can grate; as described by Barry Mazer in the foreword, it's "funny" and "a bit exasperating," like "a loving, elderly aunt and uncle."Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.