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Jump to navigationJump to searchAlex's Adventures In Numberland by Alex Bellos (view source)
Revision as of 14:58, 27 October 2010
, 14:58, 27 October 2010no edit summary
Maths is a wonderful thing. ...Wait, don't run away. It really is. The way numbers interact with each other, the way counting systems developed, how mathematical breakthroughs are coming from the world of crochet, and how people can mentally calculate the 13th root of a 200 digit number in almost less time than it takes to read it out loud. There's all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff going on in Numberland.
''Alex's Adventures In Numberland'' (known in the US as ''Here's Looking At Euclid'') is exactly what you'd want in a popular science book: it's perfectly readable and understandable, and is packed with lots of cool things you'll want to tell everyone. I've got a bit too much business card origami strewn around me. You'll love hearing about the Yupno counting system, which starts with the 20 fingers and toes, then up to ''the man thing'' (33) via other body parts, and ends with 34 or ''one dead man''. There's the golden ratio in iPods and and and... I ploughed through ''Numberland'', enjoying every page, and you will too.
Yes, you'll need a basic interest in maths, but you won't need anything more than the most basic secondary school knowledge of it. There are a couple of occasions when your eyes might glaze over at an equation, but for the most part, deep concepts are all explained perfectly clearly for the layperson. In part, it's a history of maths, in part it's just a bunch of interesting stuff you can dip in and out of. It's a substantial read, but it's never unduly heavy or dry. The writing is punchy, the information fascinating, and it's an utter joy to read.
