mathematics

Yakov Perelman

Yakov Perelman is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Yakov Perelman rather than just read about it. In short: Yakov Isidorovich Perelman (Russian: Яков Исидорович Перельман; 4 December [O.S. 22 November] 1882 – 16 March 1942) was a Russian and Soviet science writer and author of many popular science books, including Physics Can Be Fun and Mathematics Can Be Fun (both translated from Russian into English). Life and work Perelman was born in 1882 in the town of Białystok, Russian Empire.

Key takeaways

Yakov Perelman belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Yakov Perelman to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Yakov Perelman from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Yakov Isidorovich Perelman (Russian: Яков Исидорович Перельман; 4 December [O.S. 22 November] 1882 – 16 March 1942) was a Russian and Soviet science writer and author of many popular science books, including Physics Can Be Fun and Mathematics Can Be Fun (both translated from Russian into English).

Life and work Perelman was born in 1882 in the town of Białystok, Russian Empire. He obtained the Diploma in Forestry from the Imperial Forestry Institute (Now Saint-Petersburg State Forestry University) in Saint Petersburg, in 1909. He was influenced by Ernst Mach and probably the Russian Machist Alexander Bogdanov in his pedagogical approach to popularising science. After the success of Physics for Entertainment, Perelman set out to produce other books, in which he showed himself to be an imaginative populariser of science. Especially popular were Arithmetic for entertainment, Mechanics for entertainment, Geometry for Entertainment, Astronomy for entertainment, Lively Mathematics, Physics Everywhere, and Tricks and Amusements. His famous books on physics and astronomy were translated into various languages by the erstwhile Soviet Union. The scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky thought highly of Perelman's talents and creative genius, writing of him in the preface of Interplanetary Journeys: "The author has long been known by his popular, witty and quite scientific works on physics, astronomy and mathematics, which are, moreover written in a marvelous language and are very readable." Perelman has also authored a number of textbooks and articles in Soviet popular science magazines. In addition to his educational and scientific writings, he also worked as an editor of science magazines, including Nature and People and In the Workshop of Nature. Perelman died from starvation in 1942, during the German Siege of Leningrad. The siege started on 9 September 1941 and lasted 872 days, until 27 January 1944. The Siege of Leningrad was one of the longest, most destructive sieges of a major city in modern history and one of the costliest in terms of casualties (1,117,000). His older brother Yosif was a writer who published under the pseudonym Osip Dymov. He is not related to the Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman, who was born in 1966 to a different Yakov Perelman. However, Grigori Perelman told The New Yorker that his father gave him Physics for Entertainment, and it inspired his interest in mathematics.

Books Mathematics can be Fun Astronomia Recreativa Physics for Entertainment (1913) Figures for Fun Algebra can be Fun Fun with Maths & Physics Arithmetic for entertainment Mechanics for entertainment Geometry for Entertainment Astronomy for entertainment Lively Mathematics Physics Everywhere Tricks and Amusements Physics Can Be Fun He has also written several books on interplanetary travel (Interplanetary Journeys, On a Rocket to Stars, and World Expanses)

Physics for Entertainment In 1913, Russian bookshops began carrying Physics for Entertainment. The educationalist's new book attracted young readers seeking answers to scientific questions.

Physics for Entertainment had a unique layout as well as an instructive style. In the preface (11th ed.) Perelman wrote: "The main objective of Physics for Entertainment is to arouse the activity of scientific imagination, to teach the reader to think in the spirit of the science of physics and to create in his mind a wide variety of associations of physical knowledge with the widely differing facts of life, with all that he normally comes into contact with." In the foreword, Perelman describes the contents as “conundrums, brain-teasers, entertaining anecdotes, and unexpected comparisons,” adding, “I have quoted extensively from Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Mark Twain and other writers, because, besides providing entertainment, the fantastic experiments these writers describe may well serve as instructive illustrations at physics classes.” The 13th edition (1936) would be the last published during the author's lifetime. Among the book's notable topics was the idea of a perpetual machine: a hypothetical machine which could run incessantly performing useful work. The author discusses perpetual motion, highlighting many attempts to build such a machine, and explains why they failed. Other topics included how to jump from a moving car, and why, “according to the law of buoyancy, we would never drown in the Dead Sea.” Randall Munroe, the creator of the web comic xkcd and author of his own popular science books, wrote:

The book is a series of a few hundred examples, no more than one or two pages each, asking a question that illustrates some idea in basic physics. It’s neat to see what has and hasn’t changed in the last century or so. Many of the examples he uses seem to be straight out of a modern high school physics textbook, while others were totally new to me. And some of the answers to the questions he poses seem obvious, but others made me stop and think. [This] diagram ... shows a design for a fountain with no pump — it took me a while to get why it works.... Later in the book, he explains the physics of that drinking bird toy. It’s written in a fun, engaging, conversational style, as if he’s in the room chatting with you about these neat ideas.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Yakov Perelman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Yakov Perelman claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Yakov Perelman before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Yakov Perelman ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Yakov Perelman

In research: Yakov Perelman appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Yakov Perelman in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Yakov Perelman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1882 births, 1942 deaths, 19th-century Polish Jews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Yakov Perelman outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Yakov Perelman” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Yakov Perelman in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Yakov Perelman means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Yakov Perelman out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Yakov Perelman in simple terms?

Why does Yakov Perelman matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Yakov Perelman?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Yakov Perelman.