Prof. W. W. Sawyer's work

Listed below is the work done by Prof. Sawyer. The list contains most of his Books, Articles, Mathematical Theories, Talks and the most popular - 'Notes from Saturday morning sessions'. Where available, we have given links to PDF files or external websites. Thanks to Ms. Anne & Mr. Pedro Leon for sharing their collection of articles.

An appeal: If you are in possession of any of Mr. Sawyer's work that is listed here but not linked, and would like to share it with other readers, please contact us.

Books

• Mathematician's Delight (Penguin 1943)
• Mathematics in Theory and Practice (Odhams 1948) (edited by Sawyer, who wrote six of the ten chapters)
• Prelude to Mathematics (Penguin 1955)
• Designing and Making (with L. G. Srawley) (Blackwell 1957)
• A Concrete Approach to Abstract Algebra (W. H. Freeman 1959)
• Math Patterns in Science (American Education Publications, 1960)(PDF 666 KB)
• What is Calculus About? (New Mathematical Library, S.M.S.G., Yale 1961)
• Introducing Mathematics: 1 - Vision in Elementary Mathematics (Penguin 1964)
• A Path to Modern Mathematics (Penguin 1966)
• Introducing Mathematics: 4 - A Path to Modern Mathematics (Penguin 1966)
• Maths Workshop, a work text for children (with teacher's guides)
  Levels A-F, with Wirtz, Botel and Beberman. (Encyclopedia Britannica Press, Chicago, Toronto 1962; revised 1967)
• Introducing Mathematics: 3 - The Search for Pattern (Penguin 1970)
• An Engineering Approach to Linear Algebra (Cambridge, 1972. Electronic rights, Cambridge University Press 2010)
• A Concrete Approach to Abstract Algebra (Dover Publications 1977. Electronic rights, Cambridge University Press 2009)
• A First Look at Numerical Functional Analysis (Oxford University Press 1978)
• Prelude to Mathematics (Dover Publications 1979)
• Vision in Elementary Mathematics (Dover Publications 2001)
• Prelude to Mathematics (in Chinese, Commonwealth Publishers, Taiwan 2005)
• Mathematician's Delight (Dover Publications 2007)
• A First Look at Numerical Functional Analysis (Dover Publications 2010)
• What is Calculus About? (Mathematical Association of America)

Translations

Prof. Sawyer's books have been translated into French, Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese.

Articles

• Elementary Mathematics
  • An Introduction to Trigonometry (PDF 168 KB)
  • Things and Unthings: An approach to Negative Quantities
• Advanced Mathematics
  • An Introduction to the Theory of Functions (PDF 3.91MB)
  • Covariant and Contravariant Vectors (PDF 448 KB)
  • Notes on a Bridge from Classical to Modern Analysis (PDF 292 KB)
  • Some Elementary notes on Measure and Integration (PDF 510 KB)
  • The importance of the Unbelievable
• General
  • Algebra, a vital ingredient (PDF 431 KB)
  • Algebra by computer (PDF 176 KB)
  • A Mathematician as a person (PDF 488 KB)
  • A Mathematician's Apology Revisited
  • A strategy for improving education at all levels, with particular reference to Mathematics (PDF 562 KB)
  • A Teaching Experience in the U.S.A.
  • Abstract and Concrete: A series on the Teaching of Mathematics (PDF 4.58MB)
  • Algebra, The Cement of Mathematics
  • Catering for the Extremes
  • Dialectic and Logic
  • Mathematics as History
  • Mathematics, emotions and things
  • "Modern Math" and its Critics
  • Notes on the Art of Passing Exams
  • Oscillation in Systems of Mathematical Education
  • Ostwald on Education
  • Problems in the teaching of Mathematics (lecture to Indian Mathematical Society)
  • Question involving moment function and conjectures
  • Saturday Morning Mathematics in Cambridge
  • Some Thoughts on Education and Mathematics
  • Some Thoughts on Examinations
  • The "Modern Math" Epoch in the United States
  • The Contribution of Music to Mathematical Discovery
  • The possibility of Universal Mathematical Literacy (New York State Mathematics Teachers Journal, October 1958) (PDF 255 KB)
  • Thermodynamics
  • The Importance of the Unbelievable
  • Two Avenues to Advance in Mathematical Education
  • Talk that was not given (PDF 5.65MB)
  • Unwise pressure
  • What use are abstract spaces?

Notes from Saturday morning sessions

• Analytical Functions (PDF 866 KB)
• Application to Electromagnatic theory and other topics (PDF 3.30 MB)
• Calculus of variations (PDF 860 KB)
• Calculus via logarithms? (PDF 558 KB)
• Certain puzzles and problems (PDF 743 KB)
• Continued Fractions (PDF 140 KB)
• Error in Trapezoid rule (PDF 55 KB)
• Functions and mappings (PDF 5.93 MB)
• Glimpses of 20th century Mathematics (PDF 124 KB)
• Integration by part (PDF 175 KB)
• Lorentz transformation and Traditional Electromagnetic Theory (PDF 1.16 MB)
• Maxwell's equation in relativity forms (PDF 515 KB)
• Untitled article (PDF 1.12 MB)
• Untitled article (PDF 3.48 MB)
• Mathematics, Emotions and Things (PDF 390 KB)
• Modern Math and its critics (PDF 155 KB)(Article also available in text format. See General list above.)
• Thermodynamics (PDF 360 KB)
• Topics related to Quantum Theroy (PDF 1.35 KB)