The Mathematical Pamphlets of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Related Pieces
by Charles Dodgson
Buy on AmazonCharles Dodgson is better known as ‘ Lewis Carroll ’ the author of the ‘Alice’ books, and also as one of the best photographers of the Victorian era than as a mathematician. But his day job for 25 years was as a lecturer in mathematics at Christ Church. Oxford. as I explain in my book Lewis Carroll in Numberland , which written for a general audience and is one of the books I’ve most enjoyed writing, Dodgson’s mathematical work covers several different areas. He was a great expert on, and enthusiast for, Euclid’s geometry, spending much of his time in teaching it to undergraduates and championing it in his popular book Euclid and his Modern Rivals . Get the weekly Five Books newsletter Dodgson was also keen on algebra, writing an innovative book on the theory of determinants, and one of his main ideas has become a topic of current research. He always enjoyed introducing his ideas on symbolic logic to adults and children alike. And he was a pioneer in the theory of voting, on which he made substantial contributions which we would do well to adopt today. A supporter of proportional representation, he illustrated the deficiencies in our first-past-the-post and other voting systems, and his studies would have usefully informed the ‘alternative vote’ discussions in Britain a few years ago. His mathematical work in all of these areas is the basis of a multi-authored volume which I’m currently in the process of editing. I chose this book of Mathematical Pamphlets because it includes a wide range of his mathematical writings and gives one a good idea of his approach to the subject. It is also a fun book to dip into!