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Preface
This book was inspired by the extraordinary response to an Op-Ed article
I wrote for The New York Times.∗ In that article, I called for the need
to convince people of the beauty of mathematics and not necessarily its
usefulness, as is most often the case when trying to motivate youngsters
to the subject. I used the year number, 2,002,∗∗ to motivate the reader
by mentioning that it is a palindrome and then proceeded to show some
entertaining aspects of a palindromic number. I could have taken it even
further by having the reader take products of the number 2,002, for that,
too, reveals some beautiful relationships (or quirks) of our number system.
For example, look at some selected products of 2,002:
2,002 . 4    = 8,008
2,002 . 37 = 74,074
2,002 . 98 = 196,196
2,002 . 123 = 246,246
2,002 . 444 = 888,888
2,002 . 555 = 1,111,110
Following the publication of the article, I received more than 500 letters
and e-mail messages supporting this view and asking for ways and materials
to have people see and appreciate the beauty of mathematics. I hope
to be able to respond to the vast outcry for ways to demonstrate the beauty
of mathematics with this book. Teachers are the best ambassadors to the
beautiful realm of mathematics. Therefore, it is my desire to merely open
the door to this aspect of mathematics with this book. Remember, this is
only the door opener. Once you begin to see the many possibilities for
enticing our youth toward a love for this magnificent and time-tested subject,
you will begin to build an arsenal of books with many more ideas to
use when appropriate.

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