Re: Re: Re: Range of Use of Mathematica
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg89140] Re: [mg89128] Re: [mg89061] Re: Range of Use of Mathematica
- From: Tim Brophy <timbrophy at mac.com>
- Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 07:12:47 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <g0m8tt$14$1@smc.vnet.net> <g0rkfr$dtv$1@smc.vnet.net>
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 >