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henrik_w's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up The Indisputable Existence of Santa without knowing anything about it when browsing at a book store a month before Christmas. I am glad I did.
This short book (135 pages) is quite a charming mix of math, Christmas and humour. The two authors use math to analyse various aspects of Christmas, such as how to wrap presents using as little wrapping paper as possible, how to decorate the Christmas tree, and how to win playing Monopoly.
The mathematical concepts used include Markov chains, graphs, probability theory and the Prisoner’s Dilemma, as well as some physics. The mathematical explanations are easy to follow, with plenty of illustrations. In some cases there are also end notes with extra details and tips for further reading.
In particular I liked the Queen’s Christmas speech, where the authors explain how to use a two-step Markov chain to generate gibberish. I knew about this technique before, but it is explained well here (and the results are always hilarious). I also enjoyed the Secret Santa chapter – on how to set it up to avoid the problem of giving a present to yourself. The analysis of how to win at Monopoly was also very interesting. Finally, from the chapter on how to decorate the tree, I liked the proof that there are only five platonic solids.
The book is also very funny. For example, here is a quote from the Monopoly chapter: “Officially, Monopoly ends when all players but one go bankrupt. In reality, it ends when your sister accuses one or all of you of cheating, flips the board across the room and storms off in a shower of miniature plastic houses.” I don’t often laugh aloud when reading books, but here I did many times.
I really enjoyed reading The Indisputable Existence of Santa. For anybody interested in maths, it is a perfect little book for a cosy Christmas evening.
This short book (135 pages) is quite a charming mix of math, Christmas and humour. The two authors use math to analyse various aspects of Christmas, such as how to wrap presents using as little wrapping paper as possible, how to decorate the Christmas tree, and how to win playing Monopoly.
The mathematical concepts used include Markov chains, graphs, probability theory and the Prisoner’s Dilemma, as well as some physics. The mathematical explanations are easy to follow, with plenty of illustrations. In some cases there are also end notes with extra details and tips for further reading.
In particular I liked the Queen’s Christmas speech, where the authors explain how to use a two-step Markov chain to generate gibberish. I knew about this technique before, but it is explained well here (and the results are always hilarious). I also enjoyed the Secret Santa chapter – on how to set it up to avoid the problem of giving a present to yourself. The analysis of how to win at Monopoly was also very interesting. Finally, from the chapter on how to decorate the tree, I liked the proof that there are only five platonic solids.
The book is also very funny. For example, here is a quote from the Monopoly chapter: “Officially, Monopoly ends when all players but one go bankrupt. In reality, it ends when your sister accuses one or all of you of cheating, flips the board across the room and storms off in a shower of miniature plastic houses.” I don’t often laugh aloud when reading books, but here I did many times.
I really enjoyed reading The Indisputable Existence of Santa. For anybody interested in maths, it is a perfect little book for a cosy Christmas evening.
surupa_m17's review against another edition
3.0
Math has taken practicality to another level altogether, and messed up my brains about the simplicity of wrapping and buying presents and decorating a Christmas tree, forever!
thomcat's review against another edition
2.0
Probably not meant to be read through in one sitting, the humor can become forced at times. That said, there is humor, intelligent footnotes, and the math is well explained. The worst thing are the references to various youtube channels and demonstrations - this felt like a paper copy of a video.