Have you ever played the addictive card game SET? Have you ever wondered about the connections between games and mathematics? If the answer to either question is 鈥測es,鈥� then The Joy of SET is the book for you! The Joy of SET takes readers on a fascinating journey into this seemingly simple card game and reveals its surprisingly deep and diverse mathematical dimensions. Absolutely no mathematical background is necessary to enjoy this book鈥攁ll you need is a sense of curiosity and adventure! The first book devoted to the mathematics of one of today鈥檚 most popular card games, The Joy of SET will entertain and enlighten the game enthusiast in all of us.
Liz McMahon and Gary Gordon are professors of mathematics at Lafayette College. Hannah Gordon is a SET Grand Master and currently works for the New York City Department of Education. Rebecca Gordon teaches upper-level math at Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa, California. As a family, the coauthors have played SET together for more than twenty years.
鈥淎 model of mathematical exposition. The quality of writing is consistently high: clear but not condescending, humorous, chatty, and a genuine pleasure to read.鈥濃�擬ark Hunacek, MAA Reviews
鈥淭he book shows how budding interest in mathematics can be fostered and developed.鈥濃�擜lexander Bogomolny, Cut the Knot
鈥淲hat I love about The Joy of SET is that it is written in such a way that it can be read and enjoyed by both SET enthusiasts and someone that has never played SET before.鈥濃�擲arah Carter, Math Equals Love
鈥淎s the authors convincingly demonstrate . . . the mathematics behind SET actually goes very deep."鈥擝rent Yorgey, Math Less Traveled
鈥�The Joy of SET uses a popular and very simple card game as a springboard for a whirlwind tour through probability, combinatorics, finite geometries, and experimental mathematics. Whether or not you play SET, you鈥檒l find a lot of great math to play with in this book.鈥濃�擩ordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking
