Mythematics: Solving the Twelve Labors of Hercules

How might Hercules, the most famous of the Greek heroes, have used mathematics to complete his astonishing Twelve Labors? From conquering the Nemean.
Table of contents

That adds a kind of pulse train to the differential equation describing the decay in force of the giant.

Editorial Reviews

Solving this is done by using the Laplace transform. The Laplace transform might be just outside the reach of the average reader of this book.

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Therefore some extra information on the Laplace transform is given in an appendix. These are just a couple of examples of the 34 problems that are formulated, modeled and solved in the book. Other examples are the trajectory of an arrow shooting the Nemean lion , harmonic oscillation and resonance chasing the Stymphalian birds from the wood , population dynamics the city of Abdera , an optimal illumination problem between the pillars of Hercules , a packing problem blocking the river Strymon , a steepest descent problem descending to the underworld , etc.

As an entertaining intermezzo, there are three sudokus with a twist inserted after every fourth labor. The sudokus grow in difficulty just as is the tendency of the problems to be solved as one progresses through Hercules's labors. The bulk of the book is about the math problems and their solution but for the readers who got interested in the mythology, a bit of extra information about Hercules and the authors of his legend can be found in an appendix. The book is unique in its mixture of ancient Greek mythology and applied mathematics.


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The problems to be solved are not really different from what could be found in other textbooks. The mixture and diversity of the problems is however rather unusual. The fact that they are connected to Hercules and his labors, is in retrospect not really essential. Nevertheless, placing them in that context may arise the interest of some youngsters who are mainly interested in the Greek legends and less in technological applications. And as the other reviewer stated, in the problem of "the Hind of Ceryneia," the author shows his ignorance of basic physics by not knowing that carrying an object horizontally constitutes ZERO work!


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I definitely do not want my students to read this book and be misinformed in this way. Finally, the book is excruciatingly boring. I cannot see any student being motivated to study math by reading this book. In this book on popular mathematics, the author recounts the twelve labours of Hercules one per chapter , but with a fascinating twist: The author's imagination in coming up with these various problems is certainly quite remarkable.

However, as in most books, there are good points and bad ones. In this case, on the positive side, the problems posed are varied and invoke a variety of mathematical tools.


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Also, the reader is treated to quotations from Appolodorus, the Geek writer who relates the Hercules story. Finally, the writing style is friendly, usually but not always clear and quite captivating. On the negative side, other than a few editorial errors, there is much repetition in each chapter: Also, a few of these "Tasks" are not very clear, and some of the explanations given in certain solutions are not clear at all.

Mythematics: Solving the Twelve Labors of Hercules by Michael Huber

In one case, in Chapter 10, a diagram identifying the angles used in the calculations is missing. But more serious is the incorrect use of the scientific concept of "work" in the third chapter, although the general equation given for "work" is correct. In particular, lifting an object from the ground to a certain height does require "work" since one is spending energy in moving the object directly against a force vector gravity which is acting in the opposite direction; but then moving the suspended object horizontally or just holding it without moving requires no "work" since the object is always held at the same potential in the gravitational force field.

In other words, if the object is moved horizontally, it is moving perpendicular to the gravitational force vector which has no horizontal component hence, no "work" contrary sections 3. Despite these shortcomings, I still gave this book as much as four stars, mainly because I found it very entertaining and worthwhile. This book would likely be enjoyed the most by math and science buffs. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.

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Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web. AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally. The Lernean Hydra 13 2. The Hind of Ceryneia 20 3. Work with a Variable Force 21 3. Work with a Variable Force 27 Chapter 4: The Erymanthian Boar 29 4. The Centaurs' Wine 30 4. The Centaurs' Wine 32 4. The Augean Stables 41 5. Hydrostatic Pressure on the Stable Walls 43 5. Hydrostatic Pressure on the Stable Walls 45 5. The Stymphalian Birds 53 6.

Monte Carlo Shooting Scheme 55 6. The Cretan Bull 69 7.

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Riding the Bull 70 7. The Horses of Diomedes 76 8. The City of Abdera 78 8. The City of Abdera 83 8.