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"When Caesar's given your opponent the thumbs-down, it's easy to forget you still have to administer the coupe-de-grâce."
-Ian Stewart

Majority of the people who are aware of the Mathematics Events around the world have heard of George Polya even if they are not that much into mathematics themselves, for his name is on a par with legends like Gauss and Leibnitz now. Okay so we are all more or less familiar with his genius, but how many with his meant-to-be-simple-yet-intuitive works?

As a matter of fact I was a bit let down when I looked up the contents of the book after buying it for the first time. Why to waste money on some information you are already familiar with? But the book is quite something else to tell the truth. Firstly, it tells you the difference between a teacher and a researcher. You don't need to be a know-it-all to be a good teacher. However being a good teacher is probably even tougher, it demands time, practice, devotion and sound principles. He should try to teach the student discreetly, unobtrusively. You should know how to approach a problem, could it into something interesting for the listening fellas, and most importantly be an enthusiastic listener and observer. Saying which the book is not meant only for math-lovers, but for everyone else out there who is either a student or a teacher.

Meanwhile you may have heard of the age old Reductio Ad Absurdum, but have you ever thought of an interpretation like this?

" Irony adopts, to all appearance, a certain opinion and stresses it and overstresses it till it leads to a manifest absurdity."

The best part of the book, though is the third one: SHORT DICTIONARY OF HEURISTIC. Polya's heuristic strategies are undoubtedly quite well known. And though many of them does sound familiar enough, I don't think there's another author who can put it forward that simply. If yes, most probably he's paying a homage to Polya.

So, conclusion? Well it's not just an 'A New Aspect of Mathematical Method' as said. It's also a great example of lucid literature. Also I didn't think my money wasted. Neither will anyone,or so I believe. It's considered by many an equivalent to The Bible in matters of teaching. Well,I hope that makes some sense.