Alex’s Adventures in Numberland: Dispatches from the Wonderful World of Mathematics

Description

The world of maths can seem mind-boggling, irrelevant and, let's face it, boring. This groundbreaking book reclaims maths from the geeks. Mathematical ideas underpin just about everything in our lives: from the surprising geometry of the 50p piece to how probability can help you win in any casino. In search of weird and wonderful mathematical phenomena, Alex Bellos travels across the globe and meets the world's fastest mental calculators in Germany and a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan. packed with fascinating, eye-opening anecdotes,Alex's Adventures in Numberlandis an exhilarating cocktail of history, reportage and mathematical proofs that will leave you awestruck. Title Page......Page 2 Copyright......Page 3 Dedication......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Introduction......Page 8 Chapter Zero: A Head for Numbers......Page 12 Chapter One: The Counter Culture......Page 39 Chapter Two: Behold!......Page 72 Chapter Three: Something about Nothing......Page 106 Chapter Four: Life of Pi......Page 134 Chapter Five: The X-Factor......Page 166 Chapter Six: Playtime......Page 200 Chapter Seven: Secrets of Succession......Page 239 Chapter Eight: Gold Finger......Page 266 Chapter Nine: Chance is a Fine Thing......Page 286 Chapter Ten: Situation Normal......Page 328 Chapter Eleven: The End of the Line......Page 361 Plates Section......Page 389 Glossary......Page 407 1: Annairizi’s tiled squares......Page 413 2: Proof that root 2 is irrational......Page 414 3: Franklin’s 16 × 16 magic square......Page 415 5: Proof that the harmonic series diverges......Page 416 6: Continued fractions and phi......Page 417 Notes on Chapters......Page 419 Endnotes......Page 430 Plate Section Picture Credits......Page 431 Picture Credits......Page 432 Acknowledgements......Page 433 About the Author......Page 434 Index......Page 436 Back Cover......Page 488