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Math Geek: From Klein Bottles to Chaos Theory, a Guide to the Nerdiest Math Facts, Theorems, and Equations
The new "sine" of mathematical geekdom!Do you dream about long division in your sleep? Does the thought of solving abstruse equations bring a smile to your face? Do you love celebrating pi every March? Then, Math Geek was made for you! With this guide, you'll learn even more about the power of numbers as you explore their brilliant nature in ways you've never imagined. From manhole covers to bubbles to subway maps, each page gives you a glimpse of the world through renowned mathematicians' eyes and reveals how their theorems and equations can be applied to nearly everything you encounter. Covering dozens of your favorite math topics, you'll find fascinating answers to questions are the waiting times for buses determined?Why is Romanesco Broccoli so mesmerizing?How do you divide a cake evenly?Should you run or walk to avoid rain showers? Filled with compelling mathematical explanations, Math Geek sheds light on the incredible world of numbers hidden deep within your day-to-day life.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2015
56 people are currently reading
662 people want to read
About the author
Raphael Rosen
2 books15 followersI'm an author currently living in Princeton, NJ, where I work as a science writer for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. I've written for NASA, the Wall Street Journal, Space.com, EARTH, SciArt in America, and Scholastic Science World. My new book is titled "Math Geek" and is now available on Amazon: http://amzn.com/1440583811 My goal was to show how mathematics is not just a subject one masters to pass tests in school. On the contrary, math is something built into the fabric of reality, a collection of shapes, patterns, numbers, and arguments that are both beautiful and revealing. I argue that becoming familiar with some of these mathematical concepts is similar to reading Shakespearean sonnets or looking at a sunset. Math isn't just technical. It's also graceful and worth studying for its own sake.
As for my background, I have a master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's in philosophy from Williams College. I also spent almost ten years working at the Exploratorium, San Francisco's hands-on museum of science, art, and human perception.
As for my background, I have a master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's in philosophy from Williams College. I also spent almost ten years working at the Exploratorium, San Francisco's hands-on museum of science, art, and human perception.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
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September 4, 2015I received this book as a free give-away through the Goodreads First Reads program.
Sadly, I cannot recommend this book. There are many examples where the author tries to describe some fascinating mathematical principle or concept without actually showing the reader what he's talking about. In some instances, a picture truly would be worth a thousand words.
Examples:
The Mandelbrot Set
Koch Snowflake
Seven Bridges of Konigsberg
And I realize any reader could google these things while reading the book... but seriously... the book should be able to stand on its own.
Additionally, there are a few heinous typos in the book. Being a math book, you need to have your fonts, specifically subscripts and superscripts, correct. x^2 <> x2... And 3^5 <> 35.
Overall, the lack of images would seem starkly jarring to a math-lover... and the typos are more than a little problematic for a math novice.
Sadly, I cannot recommend this book. There are many examples where the author tries to describe some fascinating mathematical principle or concept without actually showing the reader what he's talking about. In some instances, a picture truly would be worth a thousand words.
Examples:
The Mandelbrot Set
Koch Snowflake
Seven Bridges of Konigsberg
And I realize any reader could google these things while reading the book... but seriously... the book should be able to stand on its own.
Additionally, there are a few heinous typos in the book. Being a math book, you need to have your fonts, specifically subscripts and superscripts, correct. x^2 <> x2... And 3^5 <> 35.
Overall, the lack of images would seem starkly jarring to a math-lover... and the typos are more than a little problematic for a math novice.
July 29, 2015
The main need for improvement in this book was illustrations of some of the mathematical concepts discussed. Other books I have read on this topic included some sort of visualization of the concept, or its application in nature.
A lot of people absorb new information visually and this would have expanded the potential audience for this book.
Other than that the research was solid and it was a good read
A lot of people absorb new information visually and this would have expanded the potential audience for this book.
Other than that the research was solid and it was a good read
July 6, 2023
4.5 ⭐️
This book is a fun journey in Maths. There were some facts that I didn’t know about Maths, and it helped me to have a broader perspective of it.
I would like to have this book in Spanish, so that many people, especially, Spanish speakers Math undergraduates can read it and understand tough topics but in an interesting way.
This book is a fun journey in Maths. There were some facts that I didn’t know about Maths, and it helped me to have a broader perspective of it.
I would like to have this book in Spanish, so that many people, especially, Spanish speakers Math undergraduates can read it and understand tough topics but in an interesting way.
October 17, 2015
For me not being a fan of math this was a great book on what math has done for the world. Each chapter was just a few pages long and the explanations were written so that someone who does not study math has an easy time grasping the concept.
That being said the book did take me longer to read that what I thought it would, not because of the writing style, but because there were time I had to go and look for a diagram or illustrations of the topic.
That being said the book did take me longer to read that what I thought it would, not because of the writing style, but because there were time I had to go and look for a diagram or illustrations of the topic.
February 18, 2021
I like math, science and how the two are intertwined. Maybe it was because I heard most of the ideas presented in this book before, but I think it was because it was just boring, that I didn’t like it. It would have benefited greatly from some graphs, drawings and an equation here or there. If you are trying to get you teenager interested in Math — I recommend you pass this one by.
August 12, 2015
I won this book from Goodreads First Reads.
Overall this book was easy and quick enough to read. I did enjoy the facts that were included (100 in total). I wanted more images to look at. The book included a handful of images which didn't feel enough.
Overall this book was easy and quick enough to read. I did enjoy the facts that were included (100 in total). I wanted more images to look at. The book included a handful of images which didn't feel enough.
October 15, 2018
The beauty of mathematics...a pity it was just roughly introduce the surface. Would be better to actually give more examples with some calculations on them.
---互联网对这个世界最深刻的影响或许就是网购，可是电子商务充满了风险。当你把信用卡号码输进亚马逊等网站，点击“购买”之后，是什么阻止网络大盗拦截和盗取这个号码的呢？
是数学。网络安全或者说公开密钥加密的基础是质数，一种只能被1和它本身除尽的特殊数（相比之下，10这个数可以被它本身、1、2和5除尽）。1，3，5，7和11都是质数，但质数是无限的，相应地，有些质数就是巨大的。
当你在网上提交信用卡号码时，其实是利用了RSA公钥加密算法，它是以它的发明者———罗纳德·李维斯特、阿迪·萨莫尔和伦纳德·阿德曼的名字命名的。RSA算法于1977年提出，是一个以巨大的质数为基础的加密系统。基本上，这个系统可以将你的信用卡号码转换成一个巨大的数字，即两个随机挑选的大质数的乘积，从而保护你的个人数据。要是知道这两个质数是什么，你完全可以将这个数字再转换成你的信用卡号码，但不要忽略了另外一个数论事实：想要对两个大质数的乘积进行因式分解是极其困难的。事实上，一个足够长的数字可能需要一堆超级计算机花成百上千年才能将其分解为两个质数。
---蜜蜂与斐波那契数
蜜蜂的谱系图里也蕴藏着斐波那契数。由于雄蜂产自未受精卵，所以它们只有母亲（蜂王），而雌蜂则来自受精卵，所以它们既有母亲也有父亲（蜂王和雄蜂）。分析一下雄蜂和雌蜂的祖先，就可以发现斐波那契数：雄蜂有1个母亲，2个祖父母，3个曾祖父母，5个高祖父母，8个天祖父母，依此类推；雌蜂有2个父母，3个祖父母，5个曾祖父母，8个高祖父母，等等。
---蝉的生命周期为什么会蕴含质数呢？某些科学家推测，蝉基于质数的生命周期是为了智胜天敌。要了解质数是如何保护蝉不被其他动物消灭的，可以假设蝉每隔6年破土而出，由于6可以被1，2，3和6除尽，生命周期包含这几个数字的动物将与蝉的生活保持同步，这样一来，每一代初生的蝉更容易遭到攻击。不过，如果蝉选择在质数年份破土而出，蝉的幼虫在走向成熟的过程中，其他动物的幼虫恰好也在觅食的概率就小了很多。实际上，周期蝉可能是将质数当成了它们的自卫机制。
--
---互联网对这个世界最深刻的影响或许就是网购，可是电子商务充满了风险。当你把信用卡号码输进亚马逊等网站，点击“购买”之后，是什么阻止网络大盗拦截和盗取这个号码的呢？
是数学。网络安全或者说公开密钥加密的基础是质数，一种只能被1和它本身除尽的特殊数（相比之下，10这个数可以被它本身、1、2和5除尽）。1，3，5，7和11都是质数，但质数是无限的，相应地，有些质数就是巨大的。
当你在网上提交信用卡号码时，其实是利用了RSA公钥加密算法，它是以它的发明者———罗纳德·李维斯特、阿迪·萨莫尔和伦纳德·阿德曼的名字命名的。RSA算法于1977年提出，是一个以巨大的质数为基础的加密系统。基本上，这个系统可以将你的信用卡号码转换成一个巨大的数字，即两个随机挑选的大质数的乘积，从而保护你的个人数据。要是知道这两个质数是什么，你完全可以将这个数字再转换成你的信用卡号码，但不要忽略了另外一个数论事实：想要对两个大质数的乘积进行因式分解是极其困难的。事实上，一个足够长的数字可能需要一堆超级计算机花成百上千年才能将其分解为两个质数。
---蜜蜂与斐波那契数
蜜蜂的谱系图里也蕴藏着斐波那契数。由于雄蜂产自未受精卵，所以它们只有母亲（蜂王），而雌蜂则来自受精卵，所以它们既有母亲也有父亲（蜂王和雄蜂）。分析一下雄蜂和雌蜂的祖先，就可以发现斐波那契数：雄蜂有1个母亲，2个祖父母，3个曾祖父母，5个高祖父母，8个天祖父母，依此类推；雌蜂有2个父母，3个祖父母，5个曾祖父母，8个高祖父母，等等。
---蝉的生命周期为什么会蕴含质数呢？某些科学家推测，蝉基于质数的生命周期是为了智胜天敌。要了解质数是如何保护蝉不被其他动物消灭的，可以假设蝉每隔6年破土而出，由于6可以被1，2，3和6除尽，生命周期包含这几个数字的动物将与蝉的生活保持同步，这样一来，每一代初生的蝉更容易遭到攻击。不过，如果蝉选择在质数年份破土而出，蝉的幼虫在走向成熟的过程中，其他动物的幼虫恰好也在觅食的概率就小了很多。实际上，周期蝉可能是将质数当成了它们的自卫机制。
--
September 16, 2021
Math Geek is a collection of 100 mathematical factoids. Each one has a page or two dedicated to explaining that one bit of information. For example, one chapter discusses Internet Security. It doesn't go in-depth on the subject, but it gives you a passing knowledge of the basics.
Many of the factoids included have a connection to an aspect of pop culture. One chapter mentions The Imitation Game to relate the information to the Turing Test. My one complaint is this; the book doesn't deliver what it says on the cover. I don't think this is a collection of the nerdiest math facts. In short, it is too easy.
Raphael Rosen wrote Math Geek, and he did a great job. Each chapter is self-contained and doesn't require prerequisite knowledge.
Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
Many of the factoids included have a connection to an aspect of pop culture. One chapter mentions The Imitation Game to relate the information to the Turing Test. My one complaint is this; the book doesn't deliver what it says on the cover. I don't think this is a collection of the nerdiest math facts. In short, it is too easy.
Raphael Rosen wrote Math Geek, and he did a great job. Each chapter is self-contained and doesn't require prerequisite knowledge.
Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
April 23, 2024
Unfortunately, "Math Geek" failed to capture my interest as it turned out to be both tedious and superficial. While it initially presents intriguing mathematical concepts, it disappointingly leaves them unresolved, barely scratching the surface before abruptly concluding. This rushed treatment of ideas only serves to create more confusion than clarity, leaving lingering questions without satisfying answers.
Moreover, the book explores various topics without providing adequate visual aids or thorough explanations of these subjects. As a result, readers are left feeling disconnected from the subject matter, leading to an unengaging reading experience.
Moreover, the book explores various topics without providing adequate visual aids or thorough explanations of these subjects. As a result, readers are left feeling disconnected from the subject matter, leading to an unengaging reading experience.
November 11, 2016
It looked interesting and, based on the title, it had lots of potential. It did not deliver. The individual articles are too short and shallow. Each article teases and then wraps up just as it approaches the meat of the subject. I went through 20% of the book in about 30 minutes and had more questions than answers. Think math facts written as tweets.
Not recommended.
Not recommended.
November 11, 2022
I don't know who the target audience of this book was.
The topics barely go into any depth, and would not be appealing to a true math geek. There are not enough diagrams or explanations for somebody who is struggling to love math.
If anything, it gives you a good list of topics to Google later
The topics barely go into any depth, and would not be appealing to a true math geek. There are not enough diagrams or explanations for somebody who is struggling to love math.
If anything, it gives you a good list of topics to Google later
April 17, 2025
Hear me out—this would be a great read-aloud in a high school math class. Topics are wide-ranging, interesting applications and connections to math in the world. I wondered what a day at work looks like for a mathematician—they get to consider some pretty cool stuff. Click below for full review.
https://thatladywhoreadsalot.wordpres...
https://thatladywhoreadsalot.wordpres...
July 10, 2021
If you like to read about math, this book is for you. You can skip around and read the chapters out of order. I borrowed this book from my library several times. I have not read all the chapters yet and will probably borrow it again to read the chapters that I have not gotten to.
November 25, 2024
Depending on who you are, this book may contain just enough materials to pique your interest, or too little. Nevertheless, I suggest that everyone who is at least somewhat curious about mathematics give this book a try.
September 8, 2017
Interesting
November 5, 2017
Very good introduction to math.
August 23, 2019
Interesting motley collection of math tit bits. Kindles your curiosity.
July 15, 2020
Yes it will surprise people on where maths is used. But I can't help but think that it is a bit too shallow
October 29, 2020
Short, oversimplified blurbs about a random smattering of things. Probably better off just hitting the random article button on Wikipedia.
July 3, 2019
Exactly what you think it would be- two or three pages [generally] about a number of mathematical concepts. I enjoyed it, though in many cases I wished there had been more depth about an individual concept. I probably will use it with my students though.
October 18, 2015
One of my favorite geek jokes: "There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who think in binary and those who don't."
This book talks about 100 mathematical concepts and factoids. #100, Base 2, is the one that joke is based on. Each "chapter" is about 2 pages long so nothing is covered in depth. It's kind of like an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader for math.
As a somewhat geeky adult much of the material covered was information tha. wasn't new to me, but enough of it was new or forgotten to keep me reading. The brevity of the chapters helped because it was easy to skip what I already knew. But sometimes I wished for just a little more information. (Ex.: What ARE the Hutita-Hatori axioms? There are only 7 and they are short so could have been included.) Ditto for illustrations in a few cases But maybe intriguing people enough to look things up is part of the goal of the book, and not a bad one when I think about it.
I think there are a couple of pages with errors - the Fibonacci sequence listed in#89, and surely one of the powers of ten in #92 at the top of page 230 needs to be negative, so that's a little disappointing.
I received this book from Goodreads' Firstreads program.
This book talks about 100 mathematical concepts and factoids. #100, Base 2, is the one that joke is based on. Each "chapter" is about 2 pages long so nothing is covered in depth. It's kind of like an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader for math.
As a somewhat geeky adult much of the material covered was information tha. wasn't new to me, but enough of it was new or forgotten to keep me reading. The brevity of the chapters helped because it was easy to skip what I already knew. But sometimes I wished for just a little more information. (Ex.: What ARE the Hutita-Hatori axioms? There are only 7 and they are short so could have been included.) Ditto for illustrations in a few cases But maybe intriguing people enough to look things up is part of the goal of the book, and not a bad one when I think about it.
I think there are a couple of pages with errors - the Fibonacci sequence listed in#89, and surely one of the powers of ten in #92 at the top of page 230 needs to be negative, so that's a little disappointing.
I received this book from Goodreads' Firstreads program.
May 13, 2016
Big fat meh.
Maybe it was a failing of the format, only giving each concept a page or two of explanation, but I felt like I came away from this book knowing less about these concepts than I had going in. I feel like the author watched a very large backlog of Brady Haran's YouTube Channel "Numberphile," and then wrote this entire book without once going back to watch again for accuracy. Which isn't to say that anything in the text is wrong, it's just so vague that it's more confusing than if I hadn't read it at all. The only part that was really worthwhile was the final section on numbers (primes, pi, that kind of thing) which really only need a page or two of exposition. If you have absolutely no background or interest in math, this would be a good book to kind of get that fire kindled, but if you're already even, say, a Numberphile viewer or Science Channel watcher, you can just go ahead and skip this one.
Maybe it was a failing of the format, only giving each concept a page or two of explanation, but I felt like I came away from this book knowing less about these concepts than I had going in. I feel like the author watched a very large backlog of Brady Haran's YouTube Channel "Numberphile," and then wrote this entire book without once going back to watch again for accuracy. Which isn't to say that anything in the text is wrong, it's just so vague that it's more confusing than if I hadn't read it at all. The only part that was really worthwhile was the final section on numbers (primes, pi, that kind of thing) which really only need a page or two of exposition. If you have absolutely no background or interest in math, this would be a good book to kind of get that fire kindled, but if you're already even, say, a Numberphile viewer or Science Channel watcher, you can just go ahead and skip this one.
January 4, 2016
Io posso definirmi senza falsa modestia un esperto nel raccontare notiziole di tema matematico. Per ovvie ragioni guardo sempre cosa fa la concorrenza: spesso trovo delle perle, ma in questo caso sono rimasto piuttosto deluso. Quello che non mi è piaciuto è la stringatezza con cui i cento temi sono trattati: in una paginetta viene esposto il concetto ma non si dà nessuna spiegazione di cosa sta dietro il concetto stesso: un po' come mostrare tanti bei quadri senza un minimo di contesto. Dal punto di vista di un divulgatore della matematica questo è Male, perché non fa venire voglia di capire, almeno come storia se non come spiegazione tecnica, le cose presentate. Le curiosità vanno bene nei piccoli riquadri, che affiancano ogni capitoletto, ma non nel corpo del libro. Probabilmente il libro può essere utile per chi proprio la matematica non la sopporta, ma non per gli amanti della materia.
February 28, 2016
This was a fun book, showing all kinds of ways math is present in day to day life. My top ten topics in order that they appear in the book:
Bubbles
Tangled cords
Raindrops are not shaped like teardrops
Why are manhole covers round
Gauss and folding pizza
Why buses run late and then a bunch come together
Juggling
More roads do not equal less traffic
Social Media jealousy - yes mathematically your friends will have more friends and be more successful than u.
Candy Crush
The one thing that I found made it difficult to read is probably a plus to everyone else: each topic is a chapter of 2-4 pages. Since I tend to read a couple chapters of a book at a time it took "forever" to read the 248 page book because it was split into 100 chapters, and after 2 or 3 my brain just didn't want to keep reading.
Bubbles
Tangled cords
Raindrops are not shaped like teardrops
Why are manhole covers round
Gauss and folding pizza
Why buses run late and then a bunch come together
Juggling
More roads do not equal less traffic
Social Media jealousy - yes mathematically your friends will have more friends and be more successful than u.
Candy Crush
The one thing that I found made it difficult to read is probably a plus to everyone else: each topic is a chapter of 2-4 pages. Since I tend to read a couple chapters of a book at a time it took "forever" to read the 248 page book because it was split into 100 chapters, and after 2 or 3 my brain just didn't want to keep reading.
September 8, 2015
Won as a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. This book is basically a quick version of Freakonimics for math. Each section is a short yet concise explanation of random math facts and concepts found in everyday life. I found it to be a quick and interesting read, but would have liked a bit more elaboration on some subjects and a bit more visuals. However, it did encourage me to look up more information on many subjects that I found interests via Wikipedia. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in random interesting facts, even if you are not so skilled at math (as I am not), I think you'd still find something interesting in here.
February 3, 2016
I received this as a first read. Let me preface this review by saying I am not a math geek. I squeaked by my math class with an D mostly. This is the reason I wanted to read this book to see if I could get a better knowledge of math. And I did. This was easy enough read with interesting research. I whish there were more illustration. Just to help me visualize better what the author was speaking of. However , if you love math or want to know more then I recommend this book to you.
August 2, 2015
I won this book from Goodreads First Reads.
A collection of short stories on Math Theories. Definitely meant for those that already enjoyed solving math equations as the how-to is not often discussed. Would have preferred more explanation and possibly some visual examples and this book could be much more widely read.
A collection of short stories on Math Theories. Definitely meant for those that already enjoyed solving math equations as the how-to is not often discussed. Would have preferred more explanation and possibly some visual examples and this book could be much more widely read.
December 17, 2016
This is a book of short math phenomena and stories that would be most appealing to a person with a little math experience. I found myself wanting more depth. How many new things you discover will likely be correlated to how much you enjoy the book, but isn't that usually the case?
Want to read
August 30, 2015Free copy courtesy of Bethany and Goodreads First Reads, which in no way influences this review
July 30, 2015
100 short essays on a variety of math subjects. most are pretty basic and general such as an explanation of what base 2 is. but it was enjoyable if light reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews