[mg89140] Re: [mg89128] Re: [mg89061] Re: Range of Use of Mathematica

[Tim Brophy <timbrophy at mac.com>]

The really good news is that Stan Wagon is planning a new edition of  
his brilliant "Mathematica in Action".

Tim Brophy


On 26 May 2008, at 11:23, Murray Eisenberg wrote:

> And this is one more place where well-conceived and well-executed
> introductory BOOKS about Mathematica 6, or applying Mathematatica 6 to
> specific subject areas, can help.
>
> So far, and so far as I am aware, we have only one instance of this:
> (1) Lynch's "Dynamical Systems with Applications using Mathematica",  
> and
> (2) the additional Mathematica 6 notebooks to accompany Shaw's  
> "Complex
> Analysis with Mathematica".
>
> Now if some of the old pre-version 6 books were updated or, preferably
> perhaps, new ones written, e.g., on:  calculus; differential  
> equations;
> linear algebra; discrete math including combinatorics & graph theory.
> Even a new Glynn & Gray, "Beginner's Guide..."!
>
> My impression is that in (much) earlier Mathematica versions, WRI went
> out of its way to encourage and foster such 3rd party books (some of
> which were, in fact, written by or co-authored by insiders).  Either
> this is not being done or, if it is, there's a considerable lag in  
> such
> efforts seeing the light of day.
>
> I remain convinced that some of the early success of Mathematica was  
> the
> existence of such books, beyond the intrinsic value of the software
> itself.  And I continue to hope that the seemingly print-averse,
> pro-electronic enthusiasts within WRI do not totally dominate the
> direction this takes.
>
>
> David Bailey wrote:
>
>> ...
>> My comments regarding the size of Mathematica related particularly to
>> the future. The problem is that a new user doesn't know, say, that  
>> for
>> his purpose he should concentrate on the kernel functions (he doesn't
>> even know what the kernel is) - he is presented with the totality,  
>> and
>> has to figure out how best to use the product. A potential user may  
>> get
>> no further than reading a review that presents Mathematica in a way  
>> that
>> seems to him to involve an excessive learning curve.
>
> -- 
> Murray Eisenberg                     murray at math.umass.edu
> Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
> Lederle Graduate Research Tower      phone 413 549-1020 (H)
> University of Massachusetts                413 545-2859 (W)
> 710 North Pleasant Street            fax   413 545-1801
> Amherst, MA 01003-9305
>