Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications
by Kenneth Rosen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kenneth RosenEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-07-26
ISBN: 0073229725
Number of pages: 1008
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
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Book Reviews of Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications
Book Review: Refreshing style of teaching mathematics
Summary: 5 Stars
While I did not buy this book (I borrow a friends) I have to say that I like it quite a bit. I also want to acknowledge that reviews on this book probably do not mean much to any individual student (though perhaps to an instructor thinking of picking it?), but those students who do read the reviews will likely be biased towards the book, either for better or worse. In fact, I felt somewhat negatively towards the book initially because of reviews here, but upon reading the intro stuff (I always read the beginning "irrelevant" stuff as it reveals a lot about the character of the author and understand his/her mindset helps me understand what they are trying to do in the text...not to mention they have some good stuff in there sometimes!) and the first section, I really liked it a lot more, and so far it has not let me down.
I have seen a lot of math books take the "let's propose everything symbolically (read: using only formulas, not words) then prove it ALSO symbolically, and offer nothing for those who cannot easily follow the notation or subtle nuances of something as small as a subscript". While I understand the reasoning behind that: to present mathematical concepts in a mathematically rigorous and correct way while not oversizing the book; I feel it does a lot to impede those trying to learn to where their only recourse is to learn through rote memorization facilitated through numerous homework problems.
However, this book does not follow that course. While it is true that there is a fair amount of equations and symbols to deal with (probably more than you would encounter in all of the three basic Calculus courses, simply due to the nature of the course), that is unavoidable in any decent math book. Rather, there are clear (this does not mean "baby talk" or "easily skim-able", some deeper level of focus while reading is still required) explanations given before and after all the problems and I feel that while like any math book, the examples are always a bit ridiculous, they are fairly realistic and practical, if not simply enjoyable enough. Not only are there ample explanations, but the author is very good at conveying his ideas, as well as providing warnings and hints to help those who might get confused by a certain concept, notation, or practice.
Despite this, there will be people who claim the course is difficult and the book "sucks". However, as the author mentions in the beginning, Discrete Structures is no cake-walk math course. It requires little more than an understanding of algebra as far as a mathematical background goes, but as he also alludes to, it requires a fair amount of "mathematical maturity". That being said, it has been probably the coolest/best/most fun and helpful math class I have ever taken. The reason why can be found in the "To The Student" section at the beginning of the book (I've mentioned stuff from there several times; I highly recommend you read it, it can change your mindset on the subject and, if you hate the subject, make you realize he's not there to torture you!). I like Discrete Structures because unlike Calculus, and to a lesser degree, Algebra, it teaches less a specific skill set or mathematical "tools" and more a general way to solve problems and view all math. In fact, a defining element of the course is how general the math is. While some may not like that, I find that it has already helped me a lot in both programming, and even in just analyzing logic in arguments and other day-to-day things. It is one of those rare courses that changes the way you view the world rather than largely just teaching you a few specific ideas. And to that end, I think this book does a phenomenal job at presenting the information in a clear, well organized, and easy to understand way and highly recommend purchasing it (my girlfriend is taking the same class so I think I'll be buying her book afterwards! =D).
I hope you enjoy it,
Thomas
P.S. If Amazon for some reason says I bought the book, it is because I bought a version for $.88 which I did not seem to notice (or it did not have the information, I do not care to check) was the third edition, not the sixth. My reviews for that version after seeing this version are not nearly as glowing...there have been many improvements!
Summary of Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications
Discrete Mathematics and its Applications, Sixth Edition, is intended for one- or two-term introductory discrete mathematics courses taken by students from a wide variety of majors, including computer science, mathematics, and engineering. This renowned best-selling text, which has been used at over 500 institutions around the world, gives a focused introduction to the primary themes in a discrete mathematics course and demonstrates the relevance and practicality of discrete mathematics to a wide a wide variety of real-world applications?from computer science to data networking, to psychology, to chemistry, to engineering, to linguistics, to biology, to business, and to many other important fields.Mathematics Books
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