Computing, Information Systems and Mathematics 87 Rodenhurst Road
South Bank University London, SW4 8AF, England
London, SE1 0AA, England Tel/fax: 0181-674 3676
Tel: 0171-815 7411
Fax: 0171-815 7499
E-mail: ZINGMAST@VAX.SBU.AC.UK
LIST OF AVAILABLE MATERIAL by Prof. David Singmaster
Last updated on 1 October 1996.
Over the past 25 years I have compiled materials for teaching and for my own
interests. I am happy to share these with interested people.
Titles here are descriptive and may vary slightly from what is on the
document. Copies at hand may vary in format, date and number of pages,
since files are constantly being updated.
GENERAL LISTS AND INFORMATION SHEETS
- My publications. 12pp.
- List of my notes for classes, etc. 5pp. (These cover calculus,
algebra, number systems, programming, history, etc.)
- Cubic Circular information sheet.
- Recreations in Mathematics Series information sheet. 2pp.
- Sources in Recreational Mathematics information sheet.
- Lecture Titles. 2pp.
ADDRESS LISTS
- Secondhand Scientific Booksellers. 8pp.
- Addresses of Puzzle Suppliers, Magazines, Societies, Museums. 31pp.
- Mathematical Address List. This lists 423 departments of mathematics,
statistics, computing, etc., in the UK and Ireland. Master file, with
selection keys for subject, institution type and location, is 43pp. A
2pp information sheet gives details.
- Computer Cubists. (Mostly old, but I have started to update it.) 3pp.
LISTS OF MATERIAL FOR SALE OR TRADE
- Books on Mathematics, etc. 18 pp.
- Books on Recreational and Popular Mathematics. 9pp.
- Magazines and Periodicals. 2pp. (The above three lists include
material from estates of Don Mansfield, J. H. Cadwell, Victor Meally,
Ruth K. Tobias and Cecil M. Collins.)
- Spare Books. General books of mine and of my wife. 2pp.
- Spare Puzzles for Sale or Trade. 3pp.
- Books, Puzzles, etc., Wanted. 14pp.
CATALOGUES OF MY COLLECTIONS
- Rubik's Cubes and Other Puzzles. 45pp.
- Bibliography of Rubik's Cube and Related Puzzles. 61pp. (I haven't been
keeping up on this - it has mostly material up through 1982.)
- Books on Recreational Mathematics, etc. Approx 4303 items + 67 old books.
110pp. Dec 1994. EXHAUSTED, new version to be done soon. Currently
approx. 4763 items + 84 old books on 124pp.
- Books on Language. 11pp.
- Miscellaneous Humour Books. 14pp.
- Cartoon Books. 2126 items. 33pp.
- Miscellaneous Information and Quiz Books. 8pp.
- Mathematical Posters. 4pp.
- Little Russian Books. 2pp.
BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND INDEXES - see also Catalogues of my Collections
- Sources in Recreational Mathematics - An Annotated Bibliography.
Preliminary edition, Jan. 1998
- Queries on "Sources in Recreational Mathematics", 1995, 22pp.
- Queries on Middle Eastern Sources in Recreational Mathematics. 5pp.
- Queries on Oriental Sources in Recreational Mathematics. 5pp.
- Queries on Russian Sources in Recreational Mathematics. 4pp.
- Books on Recreational Mathematics - A Supplement to Schaaf's Bibliographies.
18pp.
- Catalogue of the Strens/Guy Collection at Univ. of Calgary. This is much
reformatted from a disc version sent in 1987, reducing to 67pp.
- Index to Martin Gardner's Columns and Cross Reference to His Books. 2nd
ptg., 22pp.
- Dudeney Material. 7pp.
- Loyd Material. 11pp.
- Index to Loyd & Dudeney columns in Tit-Bits, 1896-1898. 6pp.
- Children's Magazines. Basic information on older magazines. 5pp.
- Tic-Tac-Toe, Nine Men's Morris and related game names. 7pp.
- Index of Dissected Chessboard Puzzles. 5pp. Needs revision.
- Index of Dissected Cube Puzzles. 1p.
- Index of Hundred Fowls Problems. 6pp.
- Classification of Ball Pyramid Puzzles. 1p.
- Pyramid Parameters. A collation of pyramid dimensions and slopes. 4pp.
- Blocks. Sizes of large blocks of stone. 3pp.
- The bibliography of some recreational mathematics books. 3rd ed., 42pp.
Covers: Van Etten; Ozanam; Boy's Own Book; W. W. Rouse Ball. Aug, 1995.
- List of 16mm Films on Mathematical Subjects. 5th ed., 1983. 36pp.
- Mathematical Films in the UK. Presented at the First International
Conference on Mathematics and Movies, Turin, 1984. 5pp.
- References: Computing and Mathematics in Society. 7pp.
- Getting Started on Mathematical Research. 15pp.
This includes: Problem Solving Techniques, available separately, 7pp.
- My publications. 12pp.
CHRONOLOGIES
The first six cover some general history of the culture as well as the
history of mathematics in the culture.
- Egypt. 3p.
- Babylonia. 6pp.
- Greece. 12pp.
- China. 15pp.
- India. 4pp.
- The Middle Ages - From the Greeks to the Renaissance. 29pp.
- Recreational Mathematics. 17pp.
- History of p. 7pp.
- History of the Calendar. 9pp.
- History of Time Keeping. 6pp.
- Mersenne and Fermat Numbers. 3pp.
- Development of Number. 9pp.
- Development of Computing. Printed in Jun 1996, 71 pp.
- Development of Modern Algebra. 16pp.
- Notes on Newton, including chronologies of his life and times. 20pp.
- Babbage Chronology. 10pp.
PUBLICATIONS OF GENERAL INTEREST
- A Mathematical Gazetteer. Version of 2 Oct 1995. 136pp.
- Visit guides to Cambridge, Greenwich and the Science Museum. 8/5/3 pp.
Based on the previous item, but now several years old.
- Notes on the History of Science and Technology in London. 1st preliminary
version, Jul 1995, 148pp.
- A Register of Relics. A collection of notes on religious relics. 75pp.
- List of Teacher-Pupil connections in mathematics. 5pp.
- Projects for Students. 16pp. c50 projects for BSc 4 and MSc students, many
of which involve computer searching.
- Notes on Polyhedra and Their History and Introduction to the POLYPACK
program. 47pp.
- Proceedings of the First UK Meeting on the History of Recreational
Mathematics. At South Bank University, 24 October 1992. Papers by John
D. Beasley, R. C. Bell, C. G. Lewin, David Singmaster. 45pp.
- Is left really right? - Reasons for driving on the left. 23pp. Needs
revision.
- A term in China (Spring 1989). 62pp. (Since reformatted to 49pp.)
- Puzzle collecting in China. 2pp.
- Quotations on round pegs in square holes, etc. 2pp.
- Sliding Block Puzzle Circular: No. 1, 10pp.; No. 2, 4pp.; No. 3, 2pp.; No. 4,
8pp.
PREPRINTS AND EXTENDED VERSIONS OF ARTICLES
- Some early sources in recreational mathematics. 9pp. A version appeared in:
Mathematics from Manuscript to Print, OUP, 1988, pp. 195-208.
- Solutions of two river crossing problems: The jealous husbands and the
missionaries and the cannibals. 1988, 14pp. A shorter version appeared
in Math. Gaz. 73 (No. 464) (Jun 1989) 73-81. With Ian Pressman.
- Problems to sharpen the young. An annotated translation of Propositiones ad
acuendos juvenes ... attributed to Alcuin of York. Extended and revised
version of Oct 1995, 28pp. A version appeared in Math. Gaz. 76 (No. 475)
(Mar 1992) 102-126. With John Hadley.
- The hundred fowls, or, how to count your chickens. 8pp.
- The n-dimensional law of cosines. 7pp.
- Generalized diagonal sums in Pascal's triangle. 7pp.
- Pick's theorem - by Pick. Translation of part of Pick's paper with some
comments and bibliography. 6pp.
- Sum = product sequences. 4pp.
- Medieval and Renaissance recreations in mathematics - slide lecture. Details
of the slides and their sources. 2pp.
- An historical tour of binary and tours. Extended lecture notes for my talk
at the First European Congress of Mathematics, Paris, 1992. 9pp.
- The unreasonable utility of recreational mathematics. As above. 6pp.
- Coconuts. The history and solutions of a classic diophantine problem. 20pp.
WANTS
Rubik's Cubes with unusual patterns or shapes, especially with advertisements
or from the Far East or East Europe. Cube covers. Twiddle. Meba (USA).
Instant Insanity or Tantalizer puzzles. Avalanche. Game Jugo (Japan?).
Wit's End (Hong Kong). Orion. Chessboard dissections. Richter 'Anchor'
stone puzzles. Dissected cubes or dice.
last Web revision: December 22, 1998