"Mathematics and the Physical World" by Morris Kline

Excellent title introducing the reader to the spatial discipline on mathematics including its physical properties.

You landed on a review of a book written by one of my personal favorite authors in the subject of Math: Morris Kline. To the unsuspecting or the curious one wanting to fully understand and rid the confusions about the rigorous, yet beautiful, subject of Math, let me tell you: Author Kline is quite possibly one of the most keen writers in talking about Math, whether it's about the history or the function/philosophy of the science. If anything, Kline is the "John Gribbin" of Mathematics, in terms of writing. I wish I knew about Kline during my early school years, then Math would've been so much easier to the point where I'd likely outwit my own teachers (yeah, I'm one of those people).

With a gentle introduction and the beauty of the discipline, author Kline neatly explains and reasons of the why and the what of Math in its role of defining its very own beauty, and of Nature entirely. Kline discreetly discusses how Math is essential in the physical realm of the planet in which we live, yet take for granted, all without making the reader eye-crossed enough to fall asleep. Saying that tells a lot, because I'm certain not very many writers can make a tough subject sound so simple to explain. That's right, ladies and gentlemen: Kline introduces you into a world only a chunk of people are able to master, and that is both Mathematics and Physics. And don't you dare close your browser, after I said those.

After, Kline, from the beginning to a bit passed the middle parts of the book, gives the reader a truly amazing account in how huge Math plays in Physics—Math is the batteries needed to rev up Physics. What's nice is the author talks about the various studies of Physics, currently taught in many schools today, from the physics of music to gravity. Along with those are some Astrophysics, a brief emphasis on Quantum Mechanics/Physics, Fluid Mechanics Theory of Light (Optics) and some Geometry and Trigonometry stuff. Throughout these chapters, Kline gives simple scenarios and mathematically breaks them down arriving to answers that calculate distances, like how far is the Moon from the Earth and how, and why, projectiles eventually follow a perpendicular curve against the floor and not completely horizontal (due to gravitational pull, which you also learn as well). All of these early on in the book will make you want to pursue a serious curiosity in anything Physics—something I guarantee you should check out. (Even those current students of Physics, this book will serve as a huge inspiration to get you excited about the subject again.)

Near the end of the book is something that fascinated me and I feel is my favorite: Calculus and [Non-Euclidean] Geometry! I have a confession to make: From high school to college, I have never taken a course in Calculus (I will soon though!), though I have taken Statistics and (Symbolic) Logic. As I started reading from Differential Calculus to Integral Calculus, and its serious usage in Physics, my heart skipped a beat. Kline really explained Calculus in such a clean, non-technical fashion that I wonder why people/students complain why it's too hard. It's just a study of the rate of change, with applications learned from Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry (areas in Math I have studied, additionally). As for Integral Calculus, I always wondered about that fancy symbol you'd find on violins and cellos, but all it is symbolizing is the summation—a "fancy" letter S denoted as ∫. Paired with the Calculus stuff, Kline talks about Differential Equations and Derivatives. Speaking of Derivatives, in comparison to online tutorials and written in some books, lots of teachers and authors use Gottfried Leibniz's notation of derivatives which is:

dy
—
dx

Because, especially when talking about Calculus and Physics, Isaac Newton gets lots of recognition and respect but almost never uses his notation which is:

ẋ

Nevertheless, those chapters, especially if you've never taken a course in Calculus, makes it super easy to understand its discipline and its application to Physics.

There were a few misspelled words in the entire book but we can let that slide, since the gentle writing all throughout makes up for it. Once again, never has a book talking about both Math and Physics could ever been written in such clear, understandable fashion, and written enough to get you very curious in extending your learning of Physics and of majority of science in general. This book is the hidden gold nugget many people struggling with Math and Physics may be looking for this entire time. Since it was reproduced by my ultimate favorite publication company Dover Publications, the price of this book isn't wallet ailing.

Now, since this is a reprint of the original 1959 edition, you'll notice how old time was back then. Kline mentioned how there were 2 billion people on the planet that time! Yeah, lots has changed over the years, and here we are in 2017. Besides old, growing facts like those, the Math and Physical talks still apply today.

It is of my honor to praise the late, great Morris Kline for this book of his. Excellent work, Mr. Kline, and if you're spiritually reading this, along with your family and friends, this book review is for you! I STRONGLY recommend this book!


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Kris Caballero

Founder and operator of KCU Network, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially retired from video production and going back to the computer sciences, Kris enjoys studying Math, Quantum Computing, playing old video/DOS games, and listening to sports radio.

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