Volume: 45; 2015; 136 pp; Softcover
Print ISBN: 978-0-88385-649-9
Product Code: NML/45
List Price: $52.00
AMS Member Price: $39.00
MAA Member Price: $39.00
Electronic ISBN: 978-0-88385-988-9
Product Code: NML/45.E
List Price: $52.00
AMS Member Price: $39.00
MAA Member Price: $39.00
When Life is Linear: From Computer Graphics to Bracketology
Share this pageTim Chartier
MAA Press: An Imprint of the American Mathematical Society
Recipient of the Mathematical Association of America's
Beckenbach Book Prize in 2017!
From simulating complex phenomenon on
supercomputers to storing the coordinates needed in modern 3D
printing, data is a huge and growing part of our world. A major tool
to manipulate and study this data is linear algebra. This book
introduces concepts of matrix algebra with an emphasis on application,
particularly in the fields of computer graphics and data
mining. Readers will learn to make an image transparent, compress an
image and rotate a 3D wireframe model. In data mining, readers will
use linear algebra to read zip codes on envelopes and encrypt
sensitive information.
The books details methods behind web search,
utilized by such companies as Google, and algorithms for sports
ranking which have been applied to creating brackets for March Madness
and predict outcomes in FIFA World Cup soccer. The book can serve as
its own resource or to supplement a course on linear
algebra.
Reviews & Endorsements
The aim of this small volume is to engage in applications of linear algebra. The focus is on motivation and raising interest rather than on teaching. … if you can't imagine what linear algebra is good for, read this book, get captivated, and start to explore on your own.
-- Dieter Riebesehl, Zentrallblatt MATH
One of the nice things about linear algebra, I've always thought, is that there is something in the subject for just about everybody. There's a lot of beautiful theory, but at the same time those people who like to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty with computations, particularly in aid of interesting applications, will find much here to interest them as well. … The writing is clear, the applications are interesting, and a student with some knowledge of linear algebra would benefit greatly from knowing the material in this book.
-- Mark Hunacek, MAA Reviews
… Math can be fun and it can be useful, a small percentage of people consider it both. With the existence of this book, that percentage will rise.
-- Charles Ashbacher
Table of Contents
When Life is Linear: From Computer Graphics to Bracketology
- Cover cov11
- Half title i2
- Copyright ii3
- Title iii4
- Dedication iv5
- Series v6
- Contents ix10
- Preface xi12
- Acknowledgments xiii14
- 1 X Marks the Spot 116
- 2 Entering the Matrix 520
- 3 Sum Matrices 1328
- 4 Fitting the Norm 2237
- 5 Go Forth and Multiply 2944
- 6 It's Elementary, My Dear Watson 4459
- 7 Math to the Max 5570
- 8 Stretch and Shrink 6984
- 9 Zombie Math—Decomposing 8196
- 10 What Are the Chances? 92107
- 11 Mining for Meaning 106121
- 12 Who's Number 1? 118133
- 13 End of the Line 131146
- Bibliography 133148
- Index 135150
- Back cover 137152