This week we reissue Images of Infinity - first published in the 1980s - and written by Dik Tahta and Ray Hemmings. We've updated some elements of the book and there is a Foreword by Alf Coles.
I met Dick before his death, but many will not know of him directly and not know of his work, except perhaps as that teacher..."Thanks to Mr Tahta, I became a professor of mathematics at Cambridge, a position once held by Isaac Newton" ...Stephen Hawking on the BBC. The Guardian called him "one of the outstanding mathematics teachers of his generation" and his approach can be readily seen in Images of Infinity.
Ray Hemmings was an equally important figure with an adventurous spirit that saw mathematics in context and produced materials that cut across boundaries. As the ATM obituary puts it "He was a founder member of Leapfrogs, a publishing trust which produced a range of materials for mathematics classrooms. A typical example of his approach and careful style [is] Images of infinity ..., which continues to be found on sale at seemingly unlikely places like museums and National Trust shops."
"The activities and ideas in this book were put together by two of the most innovative mathematics educators of the last century. Each page has been designed with care and attention to detail and points to fundamental awareness(es) about the paradoxes and pleasures of dealing with the infinite. To engage actively in this book, therefore, is to benefit from the experiences, wisdom and insight of two great teachers of mathematics." Alf Coles, Foreword
Images of Infinity combines mathematics, art, literature, logic and arguably philosophy in its unique pages. Hours of fun for students at school and long past school.
