The author of this website, Alexander Bogomolny (formber associate professor of mathematics at the University of Iowa), describes the purpose of this website as a call for mathematics appreciation in response to "math anxiety" and stereotypes. Noting that, "in pragmatic terms we need mathematics very rarely, and, when we do, the mathematics we need is mostly trivial," the author suggests that "judging Mathematics by its pragmatic value is like judging symphonia by the weight of its score." The Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles are intended to initiate curiosity to foster learning of Mathematics. The interactive website allows visitors to respond to questions, engage in puzzles, view short animated films showing curves and 2D and 3D transformations, and read about a variety of topics.