From the dust jacket:
Mathematical methods, and the notation which describes them, are deliberate creations designed to communicate ideas as precisely as possible. But the concepts used in mathematical procedures frequently appear paradoxical and even self-contradictory.
To the layman thus bemused in the technological world of today–a technology pervading industry, commerce, and the professions–Dictionary of Mathematics provides a handy and illuminating source of reference. To the student, the dictionary offers exact definition of term and clarification of topic. Cross-references are provided sufficient to allow the building up of a comprehensive view of any subject under inquiry.
Selection of material is the touchstone of any dictionary, and in this dictionary the authors have attempted to reflect the contemporary emphases of mathematics. The language, for example, of the modern algebras of sets, groups, rings, fields, vectors, logic, and motion geometry, is explained, and the traditional branches of mathematics, pure and applied, are given a modern interpretation.
The world today is experiencing revolutions of many kinds scientific, psychological, economic, social. In the field of education, traditional beliefs which have been accepted as truths for generations are being questioned more and more, and in no subject is this more evident than in mathematics. Students of all ages, and their teachers, are meeting newer mathematics as well as learning the established branches of the subject. The need for clear thinking and clarity of expression has never been greater. It was in this climate that the Dictionary of Mathematics was created.
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