The CRC Concise Encyclopedia of ibfuthemutics is a compendium of mathematical definitions, formulas,
figures, tabulations, and references. It is written in an informal style intended to make it accessible to a broad
spectrum of readers with a wide range of mathematical backgrounds and interests. Although mathematics is
a fascinating subject, it all too frequently is clothed in specialized jargon and dry formal exposition that make
many interesting and useful mathematical results inaccessible to laypeople. This problem is often further
compounded by the difficulty in locating concrete and easily unders+ood examples. To give perspective to
a subject, I find it helpful to learn why it is useful, how it is connected to other areas of mathematics and
science, and how it is actually implemented. While a picture may be worth a thousand words, explicit
examples are worth at least a few hundred! This work attempts to provide enough details to give the reader
a flavor for a subject without getting lost in minutiae. While absolute rigor may suffer somewhat, I hope
the improvement in usefulness and readability will more than make up for the deficiencies of this approach.