Educational Mathematical Stories

What could be more fascinating for an ordinary person than stories about the relativity of space and time, the four-dimensional world, celestial mechanics, equations, and gigantic numbers? The answer is obvious — a vast array of topics. But not when... the storyteller is the famous popularizer of science Yakov Isidorovich Perelman. Here is what the scientist himself wrote in the preface to the first edition of his acclaimed book: “In search of means to enliven interest in mathematics among the general public, I had the idea to collect a series of works that interpret mathematical themes in a fictional or semi-fictional form and offer them to the reader with appropriate comments. The number of such works is, of course, quite limited. This explains the modest size of this collection... One can hope that this small collection will inspire some readers to more serious contemplation and encourage systematic familiarity with a particular section of mathematics.This collection is the first such experience known to me.”