Shortlisted for the Galaxy Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2010.
This is a richly entertaining and accessible book, in which Alex Bellos explodes the myth that maths is best left to the geeks. Covering subjects from adding to algebra, from set theory to statistics, and from logarithms to logical paradoxes, he explains how mathematical ideas underpin just about everything in our lives. Alex explains the surprising geometry of the 50p piece, and the strategy of how best to gamble it in a casino. He shines a light on the mathematical patterns in nature, and on the peculiar predictability of random behaviour. He eats a potato crisp whose revolutionary shape was unpalatable to the ancient Greeks, and he shows the deep connections between maths, religion and philosophy. Packed with fascinating, eye-opening anecdotes, Alex's Adventures in Numberland is an exhilarating cocktail of history, reportage and mathematical proofs that will leave you awestruck and yet it makes the history and mystery of maths accesible to 'normal' people!
| Primary Genre | Non-Fiction Books of the Month |
| Recommendations: |
Alex weaves a journey from primary school to university level maths, from ancient history to the computing frontline, and from St Louis, Missouri, to Braintree, Essex. He meets the world's fastest mental calculators in Germany, consults a numerologist in the US desert, meets a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan, and seeks advice from a venerable Hindu sage in India. An unlikely but exhilarating cocktail of history, reportage and mathematical proofs, Alex's dispatches from 'Numberland' show the world of maths to be a much friendlier and more colourful place than you might have imagined.
Alex's Adventures in Numberland features in the following genres: Non-Fiction Books of the Month, eBooks of the Month, Recommendations
Alex's Adventures in Numberland is available in Paperback
Alex's Adventures in Numberland was written by Alex Bellos and published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Alex's Adventures in Numberland has 448 pages