Master Sun鈥檚 problem鈥攆irst posed by Sun Bin, a Chinese military strategist and supposed descendent of Sun Tzu, the legendary author of The Art of War鈥攊s an ancient strategy question whose elegant simplicity conceals a fiendishly difficult mathematical puzzle. The problem was largely ignored for two thousand years until a college friend of Dana Mackenzie revived it鈥攁nd in doing so, rekindled Mackenzie鈥檚 passion for mathematics.
Master Sun鈥檚 Problem is Mackenzie鈥檚 entertaining account of how, to his own amazement, he solved this tantalizing problem. Mackenzie, a former math professor turned science writer, describes every unexpected twist and turn, and provides advice, explanations, and plenty of examples for math lovers of all ages who want to try their own hand at discovering something new. Along the way, he traces the history of the problem and busts some myths about math and mathematicians, and reveals how the solution received a vital assist from ordinary people鈥攖he readers of The New York Times.
An eloquent meditation on the nature and practice of mathematics, Master Sun鈥檚 Problem is a story of the uncommon pleasures of mathematical exploration and a unique testament to the power of collaboration and tenacious curiosity.
Dana Mackenzie is an award-winning mathematician and science writer whose many books include The Universe in Zero Words (快色直播) and (with Judea Pearl) The Book of Why, which was named a best science book of 2018 by NPR’s Science Friday. He has written for leading publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, American Scientist, Nautilus, and New Scientist.
“This warm, vulnerable book invites us to explore math—and fall back in love with it—by pulling us deep into an intricate puzzle.”—Steven Strogatz, author of Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
“Mackenzie tells how he solved this problem with all the ups and downs of a procedural police drama or a wilderness adventure tale. Best of all, perhaps, he accurately describes what it is like to tackle a real mathematical problem with all the failures, successes, and dead ends that come with it. He writes about the solitary act of puzzling through a proof and the pleasure of collaborating with others.”—David S. Richeson, author of Euler’s Gem: The Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of Topology
“An enchanting story about the quest to solve a tantalizing problem. Mackenzie’s position both inside math (having a PhD in it) and outside of math (having left the profession for a career in science writing) gives him a unique vantage point.”—Francis Su, author of Mathematics for Human Flourishing
“For all the math explorers who love getting immersed in the mysteries of an age-old story, Mackenzie delivers in every way.”—Kate Ertmann, katelovesmath.com
This publication has been produced to meet accepted Accessibility standards and contains various accessibility features including concise image descriptions, a table of contents, a page list to navigate to pages corresponding to the print source version, elements such as headings for structured navigation, and math formulas in accessible format. Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system.
Accessibility Features
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WCAG v2.2
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WCAG level AA
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Table of contents navigation
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Single logical reading order
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Short alternative textual descriptions
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Print-equivalent page numbering
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Next / Previous structural navigation
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Landmark navigation
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Index navigation
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Epub Accessibility Specification 1.1
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ARIA roles provided
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All non-decorative content supports reading without sight
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Accessible math content as MathML
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No known hazards or warnings
