How to Solve It -轻识

A perennial bestseller by eminent mathematician G. Polya, "How to Solve It" will show anyone in any field how to think straight. In lucid and appealing prose, Polya reveals how the mathematical method of demonstrating a proof or finding an unknown can be of help in attacking any problem that can be "reasoned" out - from building a bridge to winning a game of anagrams. Generations of readers have relished Polya's deft - indeed, brilliant - instructions on stripping away irrelevancies and going straight to the heart of the problem. In this best-selling classic, George Polya revealed how the mathematical method of demonstrating a proof or finding an unknown can be of help in attacking any problem that can be "reasoned" out - from building a bridge to winning a game of anagrams.Generations of readers have relished Polya's deft instructions on stripping away irrelevancies and going straight to the heart of a problem. "How to Solve It" popularized heuristics, the art and science of discovery and invention. It has been in print continuously since 1945 and has been translated into twenty-three different languages. Polya was one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century. He made important contributions to a great variety of mathematical research: from complex analysis to mathematical physics, number theory, probability, geometry, astronomy, and combinatorics. He was also an extraordinary teacher - he taught until he was ninety - and maintained a strong interest in pedagogical matters throughout his long career.In addition to "How to Solve It", he published a two-volume work on the topic of problem solving, "Mathematics of Plausible Reasoning", also with Princeton. Polya is one of the most frequently quoted mathematicians, and the following statements from "How to Solve It" make clear why: "My method to overcome a difficulty is to go around it." "Geometry is the science of correct reasoning on incorrect figures." "In order to solve this differential equation you look at it till a solution occurs to you."

乔治·波利亚（George Polya，1887—1985)，美国数学家和数学教育家。生于匈牙利布达佩斯。1912年获布达佩斯大学博士学位。1914年至1940年在瑞士苏黎世工业大学任数学助理教授、副教授和教授，1928年后任数学系主任。1940年移居美国，历任布朗大学和斯坦福大学的教授。1976年当选美国科学院院士。还是匈牙利科学院、法兰西科学院、比利时布鲁塞尔哲学科学院和美国艺术和科学学院的院士。其数学研究涉及复变函数、概率论、数论、数学分析、组合数学等众多领域。1937年提出的波利亚计数定理是组合数学的重要工具。长期从事数学教学，对数学思维的一般规律有深入的研究，著有《怎样解题》《数学的发现》《数学与猜想》。