A Mathematical Miscellany

Abstract

THIS work, originally issued in 1889, contains quotations from various writers on the study or philosophy of mathematics, together with some anecdotes and problems on the subject. The first edition consisted of but 280 pages, but advantage has been taken of a new issue to make additions which have more than doubled its size. Save for a brief section on the history of mathematics, the work is almost entirely a compilation, and no attempt is made to connect together the extracts or draw any inferences therefrom. The reader thus has the advantage of being able to begin anywhere, but the effect of many hundreds of short and disconnected paragraphs is somewhat jerky. To form such a miscellaneous collection, drawn from writers of all ages, must have involved extensive preparation and years of reading. M. Rebière may be congratulated on the result of his labours, for the volume is undoubtedly interesting, though of somewhat unequal merit.

Mathématiques et Mathématiciens, Pensées et Curiosités.

By A. Rebière. Second edition. First edition, 1889. (Paris: Nony et Cie, 1893.)