Mac Martin

“I would be happier if we called them “phone digits” instead of “phone numbers,” because, I repeat, I don’t think they are numbers. If you’re ever not sure if something is a number or not, my test is to imagine asking someone for half of it. If you asked for half the height of someone 180 centimeters tall, they would say 90 centimeters. Height is a number. Ask for half of someone’s phone number, and they will give you the first half of the digits. If the response is not to divide it but rather to split it, it’s not a number.”
― Matt Parker, Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World

“the invention of the wheel is up there as the second greatest of all human inventions (slightly behind fire and just ahead of sliced bread).”
― Matt Parker, Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension

“Allowing for the two types of year (leap and normal), and the seven possible days a year can start on, there are only fourteen calendars to choose from. When I was shopping for a 2019 calendar (non–leap year, starting on a Tuesday), I knew it would be the same as the one for 2013, so I could pick up a secondhand one at a discount price. Actually, for some retro charm, I hunted down one from 1985.”
― Matt Parker, Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors

“Mathematicians aren’t people who find math easy; they’re people who enjoy how hard it is.”
― Matt Parker, Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World