Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society

Good arguments can be made for saying that philosophy and religion and science underlie everything we see and know. This useful and attractive encyclopedia suggests that mathematics does, or at least that its role in and impact on society are pervasive and supremely important. The introduction points out that the encyclopedia aims “to weave multilayered connections between society, history, people, applications, and mathematics” – “such connections are critical components of knowledge acquisition, creation, and dissemination. They are what allow people to extrapolate from what they already know to new situations, to create new knowledge or new applications, to overcome existing...