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This little book is so easy to read that it must have been quite difficult to write.
Its greatest asset is the extreme simplicity and lucidity with which the subject matter is presented. Even the reader who has forgotten all of his high school mathematics may nevertheless rely on Boeder to carry him through to an elementary understanding of the theory of Gauss.
The introduction consists of a brief discussion of measurement and numbers. This is followed in part I by a brief review of the arithmetic of fractions and a discussion of negative numbers.
Part II deals with elementary algebra. The diopter is defined. Expressions for the dioptric power of a surface and that of a thick lens are introduced. The author's discussion of the information to be derived from manipulation of the formula
is particularly effective in demonstrating the power of the mathematical attack.
The derivation of