Overview

This wonderful little book by Alain Robert should bring about a complete change in the learning of NSA. The author has accomplished a rare feat in the educational literature. He has succeeded in writing a book which is simple and brilliant, deep and witty, short and far-ranging. This is mathematics teaching at its best." -- J.-M. Lévy-Leblond, European Journal of PhysicsBrief and readable, this introduction to nonstandard analysis is based on the axiomatic IST (internal set theory) approach. The two-part treatment starts with a clear, rigorous exposition of theory, followed by self-contained chapters on applications. Exercises appear at the conclusion of each chapter, with hints in addition to full solutions. Theoretical topics include idealization, standardization and transfer, real numbers and numerical functions, continuity, differentiability, and integration. Chapters involving applications cover invariant means, approximation of functions, differential equations, perturbation of a Green function, and an invariant subspaces problem.