The Grapes of Math: How Life Reflects Numbers and Numbers Reflect Life by Alex Bellos (PDF)

Description

“A first-rate survey of the world of mathematics…Great reading for the intellectually curious,” (Kirkus Reviews) from the bestselling author of Here’s Looking at Euclid—a dazzling new book that turns even the most complex math into a brilliantly entertaining read.From triangles, rotations, and power laws, to cones, curves, and the dreaded calculus, Alex Bellos takes you on a journey of mathematical discovery with his signature wit and limitless enthusiasm. He sifts through more than 30,000 survey submissions to uncover the world’s favorite number and meets a mathematician who looks for universes in his garage. He attends the World Mathematical Congress in India and visits the engineer who designed the first roller-coaster loop. “Channeling the spirit of Martin Gardner…Bellos introduces fascinating characters, from the retired cab driver in Tucson whose hobby is factoring prime numbers, to swashbuckling astronomer Tycho Brahe, who lost his nose in a duel over a math formula. Through intriguing characters, lively prose, and thoroughly accessible mathematics, Bellos deftly shows readers why math is so important, and why it can be so much fun” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Get hooked on math as Bellos delves deep into humankind’s turbulent relationship with numbers, revealing how they have shaped the world we live in.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Another sparkling romp through the world of numbers, with the inimitable Alex Bellos as your friendly, informed, and crystal-clear guide. A brilliant successor to Here’s Looking at Euclid.” — Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics, University of Warwick, and author of Visions of Infinity”Love the book! Fresh, fascinating and endlessly charming. A splendiferous book altogether.” — Tim Harford, Financial Times, author of The Undercover Economist Strikes Back”See, numbers don’t have to be scary!” — Evan Davis”Alex Bellos’ The Grapes of Math is a delicious grab bag of mathematical miscellany that includes Benford’s law, fractals, exponentials and imaginary numbers, the Game of Life, among many other goodies, all presented in a most entertaining style. Both fun and instructive.” — John Allen Paulos is the author of several books including Innumeracy and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper”Think of the best storyteller you know and the coolest teacher you ever had, and now you’ve got some idea of what Alex Bellos is like. His Grapes of Math taught me something new on every page. Better yet, it made me laugh and want to tell someone what I’d just read. Math has never been so much fun.” — Steven Strogatz, professor of applied mathematics, Cornell University, and author, The Joy of x“[A] first-rate survey of the world of mathematics by a British practitioner of the art…. Great reading for the intellectually curious.” ― Kirkus“Channeling the spirit of Martin Gardner, the Guardian’s math blogger Bellos (Here’s Looking at Euclid) reveals—and revels in—the pleasures of mathematics, which he has dubbed ‘the most playful of all intellectual disciplines.’… Bellos introduces fascinating characters, from the retired cabdriver in Tucson whose hobby is factoring prime numbers, to swashbuckling astronomer Tycho Brahe, who lost his nose in a duel over a math formula. Through intriguing characters, lively prose, and thoroughly accessible mathematics, Bellos deftly shows readers why math is so important, and why it can be so much fun.” ― Publishers Weekly (starred)“An excellent book on what could be called ‘mathematics appreciation’” ― Library Journal“A charming and eloquent guide to math’s mysteries…For its witty flourished, it’s never shallow. Bellos doesn’t shrink from delving into equations, which should delight aficionados who relish those kinds of details.” ― New York Times“Bellos’ background as a storyteller makes Grapes of Math enjoyable whether you like math or not.” ― Metro”The amiable Bellos is a people person, at heart, one who has compassion for those of us who feel a bit uncomfortable around a whole lot of numbers.” ― Boston Globe“Bellos’s voice is warm and witty, calming the fears of the math-averse and providing a concise primer on long-forgotten principles of algebra and geometry.” ― Shelf Awareness About the Author Alex Bellos has a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from Oxford University. Curator-in-residence at the Science Museum and the Guardian’s math blogger, he has worked in London and Rio de Janeiro, where he was the paper’s unusually numerate foreign correspondent. In 2002 he wrote Futebol, a critically acclaimed book about Brazilian football, and in 2006 he ghostwrote Pelé’s autobiography, which was a number one bestseller. Here’s Looking at Euclid was shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize and was a Sunday Times bestseller for more than four months.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is a very enjoyable read. The author has a very entertaining and engaging writing style. The book starts looks at psychological aspects of human relationship to numbers. Thereafter, we are taken on a journey through triangles, circles, conic sections, complex numbers, calculus, cellular automata and proof and more. Pi, e, and i are characters and the amazing appearance and connectedness is expressed. This is a very rich journey through history and exposition of the variety of applications some seemingly esoteric areas have found. I particularly enjoyed the sections on roulettes.The book is not a technical explanation but invites the reader to play: whether it is origami to produce a parabola, rolling one coin over another, or looking for patterns in your cup to tea. However, the concepts are expressed clearly and convincingly.The complex dynamic interaction between development of mathematics and its applications: motivations, personalities and serendipity in complex feedback loops , shows what a wonderfully human endeavour Mathematics is.

⭐I love math….love this book. I am a mathematician and a retired analyst and accountant. The topics in the book appeal to my fascination with the study of number theory and geometry. Bellos writes with clarity and humor. Some math formulas and derivations may not be obvious to the average reader, but for those with math background or a love of math, they are well defined. In either case, the reader can skim the proofs and continue the lesson without math analysis. It is thought provoking and filled with “I never knew that!” I wish that this portal of info had been opened for me years ago, and I would have had the opportunity to branch out into some of the underlying thoughts and history of math. My college courses did not accommodate that, but now I am eager to find the reasons why I and others truly love the study of mathematics… it reaches far deeper than mere memorization and rote processes. This books takes the reader to a sub-level which brings new dimension to the study of math and numbers.

⭐I have a deep love for mathematics and physics ever since I was a child. I have purchased and read numerous mathematic books averaging one a week for the last 50 years. This book is one of my most favorite books. I have read this book about 10 times and still carry with me on vacations etc. It gives me immense pleasure to read this book. I can never get bored with this book.The author has discussed the most elegant subjects in mathematics and described it absolutely well. The number e is described so well and elegantly that mesmerizes the reader. the same goes for other important subjects. I ardently recommend this book to any math enthusiast. It should be a required reading in school. This book is priceless.

⭐Amazing book. Highly recommend it. Every math teacher should read it.It should be required high school reading.Unfortunately, reading it on a paperwhite Kindle and on an Android Kindle is very annoying since EVERY formula, fraction, mathematical symbol is rendered as a tiny graphic image that needs to be clicked on to be magnified. A fraction like 1/2 appears as a tiny blip on the page no bigger than a single character. It is very difficult even to select it because it is so small. It takes several precise clicks to hit the “target” and then magnify.This issue was discussed:https://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx2AZ9QQV0ERKPC&tag=rnwap-20

⭐This is very simply the best, most engaging popular book on mathematics that I have read–and I’ve read a lot of them. It renders abstruse and difficult concepts comprehensible for the educated layman; most importantly, it conveys the excitement and beauty of doing mathematics. For people used to cringing in fear of math, it’s a potential revelation — an introduction to a world they had never imagined. For those already in the thrall of mathematics, it’s a vindication of what they feel, not that they need a vindication! Excellent. (There is a kids’ book also called “The Grapes of Math”–don’t confuse the two.)

⭐We read of Physics on the fringe — probably because the physicists are spending so much of our money. The Mathematicians, however, are out roaming in distant [ very distant ] realms with no public mention, whatsoever. Their efforts have led to revolutions in they way the rest of us process and execute information — this is the story. You need to read it. Don’t understand parts of it ? Maybe, you need to catch up.

⭐very enjoyable for the general loving math public. I read the electronic format and it was very uncomfortable to relate to the formulas because they weren’t part of the text, but treated as illustrations, which require opening a new window, and not seeing the explanation in the text…

⭐This is a great bedtime reading book. Lots of cool and interesting math facts not only for math enthusiasts but for any reader. Alex Bellos is a fantastic writer and I would recommend it totally. Plus, the book has a really good price. Dare to delve into the day-to-day math facts of life!!

⭐Having read Alex Bellos’ “Alex Through the Looking-glass” a few years ago and liking it, I decided to read more by purchasing “The Grapes of Math”. To my dismay the two books are identical, apart from the titles! A bit of a con in my opinion. They are both a good read however!

⭐EXCELLENT

⭐In a prose that is commendably clear, lively, often witty, engaging and highly accessible, the author discusses a sampling of various branches of mathematics and some of their applications in the real world.Many topics are discussed here: Benford’s Law, Kleiber’s Law, triangles, conic sections, Fourier series, exponentials, logarithms, calculus, complex numbers, mathematical proofs and cellular automatons to name some. In each case, the author guides the reader through the basics and gently shows how beautiful and useful mathematics can be. Just as any other book of this sort, some mathematical topics presented can be much more interesting to a given reader than other topics that are also included. This was certainly the case here as far as my own personal preferences are concerned. However, overall, I found this to be quite an enjoyable read.Because of the friendly manner in which the topics are presented I believe that this book is a valuable addition to the ever-growing library of books on mathematics written with the general reader in mind.

⭐A good book but sadly it’s a different and poorer quality publication of “Alex Through The Looking Glass” which I bought earlier in the year. I’ll look more carefully at the Amazon blurb before I buy in future. The original book is good and foolows on well from “Alex Through The Looking Glass.”

⭐Extremely readable. Very entertaining.

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