Joy of X - Wyrms.de

No cover — Steven H. Strogatz: Joy of X (2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company)

336 pages

English language

Published Sept. 23, 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

ISBN:: 978-0-547-51766-7

(2 reviews)

Many people take math in high school and promptly forget much of it. But math plays a part in all of our lives all of the time, whether we know it or not. In The Joy of x, Steven Strogatz expands on his hit New York Times series to explain the big ideas of math gently and clearly, with wit, insight, and brilliant illustrations.

Whether he is illuminating how often you should flip your mattress to get the maximum lifespan from it, explaining just how Google searches the internet, or determining how many people you should date before settling down, Strogatz shows how math connects to every aspect of life. Discussing pop culture, medicine, law, philosophy, art, and business, Strogatz is the math teacher you wish you’d had. Whether you aced integral calculus or aren’t sure what an integer is, you’ll find profound wisdom and persistent delight in The Joy …

Many people take math in high school and promptly forget much of it. But math plays a part in all of our lives all of the time, whether we know it or not. In The Joy of x, Steven Strogatz expands on his hit New York Times series to explain the big ideas of math gently and clearly, with wit, insight, and brilliant illustrations.

Whether he is illuminating how often you should flip your mattress to get the maximum lifespan from it, explaining just how Google searches the internet, or determining how many people you should date before settling down, Strogatz shows how math connects to every aspect of life. Discussing pop culture, medicine, law, philosophy, art, and business, Strogatz is the math teacher you wish you’d had. Whether you aced integral calculus or aren’t sure what an integer is, you’ll find profound wisdom and persistent delight in The Joy of x.

6 editions

Stephanie Jane reviewed The Joy of X by Steven H. Strogatz

Great enthusiasm

4 stars

Dave bought a couple of maths books a while ago, inspired by our going to a fascinating Simon Singh talk about the hidden maths in the Simpsons TV series. The Joy of X was the first I've tried to read. The first few pages were fine and I could follow exactly what Strogatz was saying. However, once we got past 'fish fish fish fish fish fish', it all got a bit tougher! Strogatz does explain his topics well and in normal English rather than obscure language, even if math instead of maths does grate a bit to begin with. I enjoyed the historical explanations of each topic and the progression of chapters also helped. I think I understood most of what was written, although being able to reproduce the thoughts independently probably isn't going to happen, but a lot that lost me during Secondary School is now much clearer. Strogatz's …

Dave bought a couple of maths books a while ago, inspired by our going to a fascinating Simon Singh talk about the hidden maths in the Simpsons TV series. The Joy of X was the first I've tried to read. The first few pages were fine and I could follow exactly what Strogatz was saying. However, once we got past 'fish fish fish fish fish fish', it all got a bit tougher! Strogatz does explain his topics well and in normal English rather than obscure language, even if math instead of maths does grate a bit to begin with. I enjoyed the historical explanations of each topic and the progression of chapters also helped. I think I understood most of what was written, although being able to reproduce the thoughts independently probably isn't going to happen, but a lot that lost me during Secondary School is now much clearer. Strogatz's enthusiasm really comes across throughout the text and this joy in his subject is infectious. I spotted a sine wave in the distribution of pebbles on the beach tide line this morning. Yay me!

jakob

rated it

March 12, 2013