Seeing Through Arithmetic

Paul Lockhart reveals arithmetic not as the rote manipulation of numbers but as a set of ideas that exhibit the surprising behaviors usually reserved for higher branches of mathematics. In this entertaining survey, he explores the nature of counting and different number systems—Western and non-Western—and weighs the pluses and minuses of each.

This book presents methods of solving problems in three areas of elementary combinatorial mathematics: classical combinatorics, combinatorial arithmetic, and combinatorial geometry. Brief theoretical discussions are immediately followed by carefully worked-out examples of increasing degrees of difficulty and by exercises that range from routine to rather challenging. The book features approximately 310 examples and 650 exercises.

The format of Mental Arithmetic differs from that of traditional mental arithmetic materials in that pupils read the questions themselves, use rough paper for workings out, and write down their answers. It provides intensive practice in all areas of the maths curriculum.