Think of a Number

by Johnny Ball

Good: A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels.Some of our books may have slightly worn corners, and minor creases to the covers. Please note the cover may sometimes be different to the one shown.

Genres: Mathematics

78 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1979

About the author

Johnny Ball is the host of Think of a Number, Think Again (BBC), and Johnny Ball Reveals All (ITV). His shows and videos have won 12 awards, including a New York International Emmy nomination, the ITV "Presenter of the Year" Craft Award, and a BAFTA.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those in the UK and are of a certain age Johnny Ball was a master of childrens educational entertainment - his energy and creativity were legendary and actually made learning not only fun but exciting at an age (for me at least) when admitting you enjoyed learning just was not done!

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that years later he has a book out that tries to capture that fascination and enthusiasm for numbers.

The book is certainly aimed at a particular age group but DO NOT dismiss it just for that. The book is fast and colourful and really fun to read, all the time teaching you about numbers. There is not much in the way of a review I can write about this book as really it takes each chapter and focuses on the "numbers" behind it - from magic to geometry and architecture to how we count.

The book as something to surprise everyone in it- with fascinating facts and yes you guessed it figures. There is as much to learn about the history and development of mathematics as there is the impact it has in modern day life.

This books is a great find for a life long fan of Johnny Ball.

[Alexandra Taco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro lo disfrute en mi adolescencia por una publicación del periódico, es excelente para aprender de manera didáctica y ágil.

Los adultos lo pueden leer para expander sus conocimientos de cultura general ya que hay datos históricos que por la forma en que son contados, se quedan en la memoria.
Nunca está demas aprender de nuevo.

[Maurizio Codogno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quarto volume della collana La scienza per gioco, questo libro è pensato per i ragazzi delle medie, raccontando con tanti colori e figure alcune curiosità della matematica, a partire dalla definizione dei numeri all'aritmetica e alla geometria, terminando con le minischede biografiche di alcuni matematici e scienziati del passato. D'altra parte Ball non è uno scrittore, ma un presentatore televisivo britannico: Think of a Number era il nome di una trasmissione televisiva che lui presentava negli anni '80 sulla BBC.
L'idea probabilmente è sensata, così come la scelta di aggiungere molti fattoidi; peccato che ci siano alcuni punti che mostrano una scarsa attenzione al risultato finale. Per esempio i numeri invisibili sotto il riquadro nero a pagina 22, o il concetto di infinito "quantificabile" a pagina 39 (sarebbe "numerabile", o anche solo "contabile" - e comunque fi anche se irrazionale non dà problemi per la numerabilità...) o ancora la "spiegazione" di come Archimede "dimostrò" quale sia l'area sottesa da un arco di parabola. Peccato, perché macchiano un'opera che ha un'indubbia utilità.

[Kirsten Giraffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

In case you ever start to completely loathe math, I suggest you read this ;u;