The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi. The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time

✍ Scribed by Marcel Danesi

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 259
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

A walk through history's most mind-boggling puzzlesEver since the Sphinx asked his legendary riddle of Oedipus, riddles, conundrums, and puzzles of all sizes have kept humankind perplexed and amused. The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi takes die-hard puzzle mavens on a tour of the world's most enduringly intriguing braintwisters, from K?nigsberg's Bridges and the Hanoi Towers to Fibonacci's Rabbits, the Four Color Problem, and the Magic Square. Each chapter introduces the basic puzzle, discusses the mathematics behind it, and includes exercises and answers plus additional puzzles similar to the one under discussion. Here is a veritable kaleidoscope of puzzling labyrinths, maps, bridges, and optical illusions that will keep aficionados entertained for hours.Marcel Danesi (Etobicoke, ON, Canada) is the author of Increase Your Puzzle IQ

✦ Table of Contents

The Liar Paradox AND THE Towers of Hanoi THE 10 GREATEST MATH PUZZLES OF ALL TIME......Page 4
CONTENTS......Page 8
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 10
Introduction......Page 12
1 The Riddle of the Sphinx......Page 16
2 Alcuin’s River-Crossing Puzzle......Page 38
3 Fibonacci’s Rabbit Puzzle......Page 58
4 Euler’s Königsberg Bridges Puzzle......Page 78
5 Guthrie’s Four-Color Problem......Page 96
6 Lucas’s Towers of Hanoi Puzzle......Page 116
7 Loyd’s Get Off the Earth Puzzle......Page 136
8 Epimenides’ Liar Paradox......Page 152
9 The Lo Shu Magic Square......Page 170
10 The Cretan Labyrinth......Page 188
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS......Page 202
GLOSSARY......Page 248
INDEX......Page 254