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Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature by Sarah Hart
janx113's review against another edition
4.0
I love math and literature so this book deeply intrigued me. If you don’t love both of these things, I’m not sure it will change your mind. The first part was a bit dull and dense for me but the second and third parts were very cool, and I added a few things to my reading list based on their mathematical connections explored in this book.
chrisannee's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm.
I was really excited about this one. I feel, perhaps wrongly, that everything worth while that is true is interrelated. And interdisciplinarity is in.
Math, being some of the undeniably truest true out there, I thought this would work a bit better than it did for me.
Hart's book is not written for Lit majors, though. It's written for mathematically-inclined people who also like to read which makes it not as easily readable/accessible to people like me who tested out of college math at 18 and never looked back.
The last 3 chapters were my favorite. Especially chaos theory which I've loved since Connie Willis. I also enjoyed the quick take on Daniel Deronda. The Tolstoy point was fun but hardly central to the W&P plot.
Points for the idea and the collection, even though it bypassed low hanging fruit in Harry Potter. But I didn't have the understanding necessary to really get most of it. And I had hoped for something a bit deeper in most cases. Of course, the truth may be that literature is not truth and that is why it doesn't work.
Also props for a section in a book about diverse contributions but the connection was tenuous at best. It came out of nowhere, halfway into the chapter and the end in no way connected it and the rest of the book to the whole.
My point is not to say that diverse author/mathematicians do not exist. Rather that they merited better treatment and coverage.
I was really excited about this one. I feel, perhaps wrongly, that everything worth while that is true is interrelated. And interdisciplinarity is in.
Math, being some of the undeniably truest true out there, I thought this would work a bit better than it did for me.
Hart's book is not written for Lit majors, though. It's written for mathematically-inclined people who also like to read which makes it not as easily readable/accessible to people like me who tested out of college math at 18 and never looked back.
The last 3 chapters were my favorite. Especially chaos theory which I've loved since Connie Willis. I also enjoyed the quick take on Daniel Deronda. The Tolstoy point was fun but hardly central to the W&P plot.
Points for the idea and the collection, even though it bypassed low hanging fruit in Harry Potter. But I didn't have the understanding necessary to really get most of it. And I had hoped for something a bit deeper in most cases. Of course, the truth may be that literature is not truth and that is why it doesn't work.
Also props for a section in a book about diverse contributions but the connection was tenuous at best. It came out of nowhere, halfway into the chapter and the end in no way connected it and the rest of the book to the whole.
My point is not to say that diverse author/mathematicians do not exist. Rather that they merited better treatment and coverage.
fazeelaf's review against another edition
Interesting and simultaneously mind numbing. Best appreciated by a math lover.
peggyamor's review against another edition
4.0
This kind of book is my jam - the audio book was read by the other, which I love.