Finite Mathematics, Models, and Structure

About the Book

Still another book on finite math? Why? Hasn’t everything that should have been said been said? No, I would argue. The shortcoming that troubles me most about the books I am familiar with is their failure to provide perspective on what math technique and the use of technology can do for us and its limitations. This can only be addressed through vigorous and sustained use of the mathematical modeling perspective, which is a hallmark of this book’s exposition. A point continually stressed is that reaching a mathematical answer to a problem is not the end of the story. It is in a sense the end of a chapter, but the next chapter is concerned with questions about whether and how the mathematical answer should be implemented. Also addressed is the question of what to consider when more than one answer is obtained for a problem.

About the Author

William J. Adams, Professor of Mathematics at Pace University, is a recipient of Pace’s Outstanding Teacher Award. He was Chairman of the Pace N.Y. Mathematics Department from 1976 through 1991. Professor Adams is author or co-author of over twenty books on mathematics, its applications, and history, including Elements of Linear Programming (1969), Calculus for Business and Social Science (1975), Fundamentals of Mathematics for Business, Social and Life Sciences (1979), Elements of Complex Analysis (1987), Get a Grip on Your Math (1996), Slippery Math in Public Affairs: Price Tag and Defense (2002) and Think First, Apply MATH, Think Further: Food for Thought (2005), The Life and Times of the Central Limit Theorem Second Edition(2009). His concern with the slippery side of math and what math can do for us and its limitations is a prominent feature of his writings on applications. Concerning higher education in general, he is the author of The Nifty-Gritty in the Life of a University (2007).