Starbird, Michael P.

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Starbird, Michael P.

PERSONAL: Male.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Mathematics, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Texas, Austin, University Distinguished Teaching Professor in Mathematics.

MEMBER: University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Has received several awards for teaching.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with R.H. Bing and William T. Eaton) Continua, Decompositions, Manifolds: Proceedings of Texas Topology Symposium, 1980, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 1983.

(With Edward B. Burger) The Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to Effective Thinking, Key College Publishers (Emeryville, CA), 2000, second edition, 2004.

(With Edward B. Burger) Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas, illustrated by Alan Witschonke, W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 2005.

ADAPTATIONS: The Heart of Mathematics was adapted as a video teaching course titled The Joy of Thinking: The Beauty and Power of Classical Mathematical Ideas, The Teaching Company, 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Mathematician Michael P. Starbird's Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas, written with Williams College professor Edward B. Burger, uses easily recognizable situations and common objects to explain complex theories and principles in mathematics. For instance, the coauthors discuss the concept of the golden ratio by using the patterns on a pineapple as a familiar illustration. Probability theory, to use another instance, is illustrated with discussions on the likelihood of winning a lottery or of sharing a birthday with a friend. In this way, the authors try to engage readers and help them more easily understand abstract concepts. In addition, Starbird and Burger use humor to hold the attention of those who might not normally read a book on mathematics. A Kirkus Reviews contributor described Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz as "a bit of math in a nutshell, totaling fun." Booklist contributor Gilbert Taylor called it "a profusely illustrated, bemusingly unorthodox introduction to math."