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Fundamental Mathematics: A Voyage Into the Quirky Universe of Maths & Jokes
Is headbanging a mathematical certainty? Can you turn a pile of batteries into a new proof? Can you use a cannon to beat Googol? What does a mathematician have against giant peas?
In his first book, David Eelbode uses mathematics - served with a more than generous splash of humour - to answer these questions, and much more. Using space as a metaphor and a captivating thread, he invites you to embark on a delightful trip to an absurd universe, where numbers and formulas meet low flying pianos and drunk wombats. So buckle up for this funny voyage to Planet Maths and its inhabitants!
In his first book, David Eelbode uses mathematics - served with a more than generous splash of humour - to answer these questions, and much more. Using space as a metaphor and a captivating thread, he invites you to embark on a delightful trip to an absurd universe, where numbers and formulas meet low flying pianos and drunk wombats. So buckle up for this funny voyage to Planet Maths and its inhabitants!
- GenresNonfiction
170 pages, Paperback
Published October 18, 2019
6 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 4, 2020
I always loved mathematics. But this is the first time that a book about this topic made me giggle so much. Now, people will think I'm a nerd for sure. I definitily recommend this book and no, I'm not saying that because he's been my professor. I really enjoyed it.
September 8, 2022
I applaud the effort and creativity that went into writing a funny book about mathematics, making the subject approachable. It was also generally well-written. However, this felt more like reading a stand-up comedy routine, than reading a book. It wasn't for me. Some people may appreciate the endless jokes, but I became increasingly annoyed at the lack of a single paragraph that didn't either contain a joke, or was part of a multi-paragraph joke. It felt distracting and was just too much for me. It meant that the book consists of more jokes and funny tangents, than actual mathematical content.
I'm also not sure whether the difficulty of the concepts explained was well-balanced enough. Once again, this is very likely personal, but I found some sections pretty hard to follow, while being annoyed at different sections when too many words seemed wasted on a simple issue.
One final piece of advice for the editor: please do a simple "replace all" to remove double spaces! There were so many of them!
In conclusion, if you like comedy, are interested in mathematics (but not more than in comedy), and aren't fussy about double spaces, then this book is for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.
I'm also not sure whether the difficulty of the concepts explained was well-balanced enough. Once again, this is very likely personal, but I found some sections pretty hard to follow, while being annoyed at different sections when too many words seemed wasted on a simple issue.
One final piece of advice for the editor: please do a simple "replace all" to remove double spaces! There were so many of them!
In conclusion, if you like comedy, are interested in mathematics (but not more than in comedy), and aren't fussy about double spaces, then this book is for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.
July 18, 2022
I did not like this book too much. The gun part was ok, but more in a stand-up comedy kind of way; for me often too much out of conteyt. The mathematics wass somewhat interesting.
February 22, 2025
Better written than I could have reasonably expected. Quirky, and more than a handful of wittty jokes.
June 13, 2022
This book is a quirky voyage into the universe of David Eelbode’s head. Maths (and trying to convert questions into provable abstractions) is a large part of it. As is tofu (apparently). To put it in simple words: he is bonkers.
In general, I liked the book. It is laugh-out-loud funny at times (a 1000 words at least) and witty for the most part. You may need basic notions of mathematics to understand the book and the jokes, though. I had to think twice to grasp some of the jokes (which might sound funny, but is not). I also had to reread at least a couple of pages to get the maths. My being a mere computer scientist might be the condition that made this probability 1 - one of the rare breeds of scientists without any self-confidence, together with the political scientists; why else would they put the word scientist in the name of their profession? I did learn something about maths, especially about the other crazy loons that populate this fascinating field together with David.
Summarizing, David succeeded in reaching his fellow fans of mathematics with a fun and entertaining read; if he intended to lure the less-mathematically inclined into the arms of the Queen of the Sciences, I think humor might not have been the best sauce; David is funny, but mathematics is not (it is a great number or other positive adjectives, but not funny).
Read this book if you are in the last grade of a mathematics-oriented high school education (and enroll in David’s math classes at University)! Read this book if you are into maths and want to refresh your set theory! Read this book if you are into Japanese food, wombats and/or pizza!
But be careful to recommend it to your father, brother, mother, aunt that have mathemaphobia; it might only make them feel stupid. Don’t be afraid to recommend David’s next book, “Funny with a chance of tofu, a voyage into the quirky universe of commuting and traveling (in more than 1000 words)” - which might be lost in one of the many corners of 42-dimensional hyperspace.
In general, I liked the book. It is laugh-out-loud funny at times (a 1000 words at least) and witty for the most part. You may need basic notions of mathematics to understand the book and the jokes, though. I had to think twice to grasp some of the jokes (which might sound funny, but is not). I also had to reread at least a couple of pages to get the maths. My being a mere computer scientist might be the condition that made this probability 1 - one of the rare breeds of scientists without any self-confidence, together with the political scientists; why else would they put the word scientist in the name of their profession? I did learn something about maths, especially about the other crazy loons that populate this fascinating field together with David.
Summarizing, David succeeded in reaching his fellow fans of mathematics with a fun and entertaining read; if he intended to lure the less-mathematically inclined into the arms of the Queen of the Sciences, I think humor might not have been the best sauce; David is funny, but mathematics is not (it is a great number or other positive adjectives, but not funny).
Read this book if you are in the last grade of a mathematics-oriented high school education (and enroll in David’s math classes at University)! Read this book if you are into maths and want to refresh your set theory! Read this book if you are into Japanese food, wombats and/or pizza!
But be careful to recommend it to your father, brother, mother, aunt that have mathemaphobia; it might only make them feel stupid. Don’t be afraid to recommend David’s next book, “Funny with a chance of tofu, a voyage into the quirky universe of commuting and traveling (in more than 1000 words)” - which might be lost in one of the many corners of 42-dimensional hyperspace.
January 7, 2022
Not really my taste. Too many jokes, no new math. But then comes the last chapter where David explains how spacious hyperspace is: and that makes the book worth every penny.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews