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A review by toeffy
Alex's Adventures in Numberland by Alex Bellos
5.0
Fascinating insights into the world of maths
I wish, I had discovered this book earlier in my life. It's not that I was bad at maths, but it was always elusive to grasp and to really understand. This book takes fear out of maths by explaining even the most complex concepts calmly and patiently. I especially loved the historical development: from the need of numbers higher than five, to establishing geometric axioms with nothing but a compass, to calculating logarithms without having the technical equipment we have now.
Basically, that's what students need to learn at school, I think. Because one of the most often complaints about maths (at least when I was at school) was "Why do I need to learn this, if I can get my smartphone to calculate everything for me?" This book teaches why certain concepts (for example like Pi) are so special and fascinating and how mathematical principles have evolved into what they are today.
Overall, a great, interesting, and highly entertaining read! It's not the easiest book, but it made me think in a way not many other books did. If someone told me at school that I would ponder mathematical theorems in my free time, I wouldn't have believed them.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to give maths a second chance and discover a whole new world of numbers and patterns.
5/5
I wish, I had discovered this book earlier in my life. It's not that I was bad at maths, but it was always elusive to grasp and to really understand. This book takes fear out of maths by explaining even the most complex concepts calmly and patiently. I especially loved the historical development: from the need of numbers higher than five, to establishing geometric axioms with nothing but a compass, to calculating logarithms without having the technical equipment we have now.
Basically, that's what students need to learn at school, I think. Because one of the most often complaints about maths (at least when I was at school) was "Why do I need to learn this, if I can get my smartphone to calculate everything for me?" This book teaches why certain concepts (for example like Pi) are so special and fascinating and how mathematical principles have evolved into what they are today.
Overall, a great, interesting, and highly entertaining read! It's not the easiest book, but it made me think in a way not many other books did. If someone told me at school that I would ponder mathematical theorems in my free time, I wouldn't have believed them.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to give maths a second chance and discover a whole new world of numbers and patterns.
5/5