img

Is Maths Real?

Eugenia Cheng

A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023
A NEW SCIENTIST BEST BOOK OF 2023
WINNER OF THE LA TIMES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023 BOOK PRIZE

'A generous tour of mathematics for anyone whose instincts tend less towards "Just tell me the answer" and more towards "Wait, but why?"'
JORDAN ELLENBERG

To many, maths feels like an unmapped wilderness. Between abstract concepts like imaginary numbers and infinity, it can sometimes feel like a lot of maths is just made up. Why, for example, is 1 not a prime? Why do two negatives cancel each other out? Where does trigonometry come from? Is maths even real?

Abstract mathematician Eugenia Cheng shows that curiosity is the best teacher. Is Maths Real? takes us on a scintillating tour of the simple questions that provoke mathematics' deepest insights.

'Intriguing...celebrates the dizziness and disorientation engendered by childlike questions that hint at the deep mysteries beneath'
NEW SCIENTIST

'Masterfully uncovers what's simply profound in the profoundly simple'
FRANCIS SU

'Discover what it feels like to be a real mathematician'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

  • Classification : Popular Science
  • Pub Date : JUN 6, 2024
  • Imprint : Profile Books
  • Page Extent : 336
  • Binding : PB
  • ISBN : 9781788169530
  • Price : INR 699
image

Eugenia Cheng

Eugenia Cheng is a mathematician and Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as an honorary visiting fellow at City, University of London. She is the author of How to Bake Pi, Beyond Infinity, The Art of Logic in an Illogical World, and x + y: A Mathematician's Manifesto for Rethinking Gender. She lives in Chicago. She invites you to visit her at eugeniacheng.com or follow her on Twitter @DrEugeniaCheng.

Amber Ren is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Because by Mo Willems. She currently works as a visual development artist for Dreamworks TV, and her work has been featured in the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art's first online exhibition, Art in Place: Social Distancing in the Studio. She lives in Southern California. She invites you to visit her at amber-ren.com.

Discover more books

To search by Publisher, Imprint, Category and Subject, please use Advanced Search