Through hard experience mathematicians have learned to subject even the most 'evident' assertions to rigorous scrutiny, as intuition can often be misleading. Th

A collection of mathematical errors, drawn from the work of students, textbooks, and the media, as well as from professional mathematicians themselves.

Two veteran math educators demonstrate how some "magnificent mistakes" had profound consequences for our understanding of mathematics' key concepts. In the nine

Underwood Dudley is well known for his collection of books on mathematical cranks. Here he offers yet another--angle trisectors. It is impossible to trisect ang

Pell's equation is part of a central area of algebraic number theory that treats quadratic forms and the structure of the rings of integers in algebraic number