In this richly entertaining and accessible book, 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 behavior. 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. 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.
0 有用 Angela 2011-08-17 10:53:06
There are tribes whose only number words are 'one', 'two' and 'many'.
0 有用 Nightwing 2023-10-02 01:36:55 北京
没有物理化学那种与现实紧密直观的联系，数学的科普真不好写。本书兼顾玄妙的理论（用二进制解读易经）、趣味的应用（赌博机）和鲜活的人物故事（日本心算课），揉进语言、哲学、伦理多方面的思考，这都是Bellos的招牌。难处也有：好几个为了增加趣味性而举的例子，两三节一扫而过，看得人困惑沮丧，还不如不说（德国大师Dase关于推算pi小数点的公式看傻了，作者的轻松语气更是雪上加霜）。虽然书中也提到了数学狂热而... 没有物理化学那种与现实紧密直观的联系，数学的科普真不好写。本书兼顾玄妙的理论（用二进制解读易经）、趣味的应用（赌博机）和鲜活的人物故事（日本心算课），揉进语言、哲学、伦理多方面的思考，这都是Bellos的招牌。难处也有：好几个为了增加趣味性而举的例子，两三节一扫而过，看得人困惑沮丧，还不如不说（德国大师Dase关于推算pi小数点的公式看傻了，作者的轻松语气更是雪上加霜）。虽然书中也提到了数学狂热而产生的盲目和偏见，但总感觉文科的认知方式正在随世界秩序的崩塌而越发苍白，数学不以文化和意形为转移，就算不是真理本身，也是理解真相的灵感和神器。ps. 带着情绪斗胆给作者个忠告：多用句号，少用which！ (展开)
0 有用 Nightwing 2023-10-02 01:36:55 北京
没有物理化学那种与现实紧密直观的联系，数学的科普真不好写。本书兼顾玄妙的理论（用二进制解读易经）、趣味的应用（赌博机）和鲜活的人物故事（日本心算课），揉进语言、哲学、伦理多方面的思考，这都是Bellos的招牌。难处也有：好几个为了增加趣味性而举的例子，两三节一扫而过，看得人困惑沮丧，还不如不说（德国大师Dase关于推算pi小数点的公式看傻了，作者的轻松语气更是雪上加霜）。虽然书中也提到了数学狂热而... 没有物理化学那种与现实紧密直观的联系，数学的科普真不好写。本书兼顾玄妙的理论（用二进制解读易经）、趣味的应用（赌博机）和鲜活的人物故事（日本心算课），揉进语言、哲学、伦理多方面的思考，这都是Bellos的招牌。难处也有：好几个为了增加趣味性而举的例子，两三节一扫而过，看得人困惑沮丧，还不如不说（德国大师Dase关于推算pi小数点的公式看傻了，作者的轻松语气更是雪上加霜）。虽然书中也提到了数学狂热而产生的盲目和偏见，但总感觉文科的认知方式正在随世界秩序的崩塌而越发苍白，数学不以文化和意形为转移，就算不是真理本身，也是理解真相的灵感和神器。ps. 带着情绪斗胆给作者个忠告：多用句号，少用which！ (展开)
0 有用 Angela 2011-08-17 10:53:06
There are tribes whose only number words are 'one', 'two' and 'many'.