How to Bake Pi
Easy recipes for understanding complex maths
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Profile Books Ltd
Published:2nd Jun '16
Should be back in stock very soon
What is maths all about? And what on earth do cake and custard have to do with it? The fabulous Eugenia Cheng's entertaining guide to mathematical thinking, available now in paperback
Möbius bagels, Euclid's flourless chocolate cake and apple pi - this is maths, but not as you know it. In How to Bake Pi, mathematical crusader and star baker Eugenia Cheng has rustled up a batch of delicious culinary insights into everything from simple numeracy to category theory ('the mathematics of mathematics'), via Fermat, Poincaré and Riemann. Maths is much more than simultaneous equations and pr2 : it is an incredibly powerful tool for thinking about the world around us. And once you learn how to think mathematically, you'll never think about anything - cakes, custard, bagels or doughnuts; not to mention fruit crumble, kitchen clutter and Yorkshire puddings - the same way again. Stuffed with moreish puzzles and topped with a generous dusting of wit and charm, How to Bake Pi is a foolproof recipe for a mathematical feast. *Previously published under the title Cakes, Custard & Category Theory*
It would be wonderful if this book attracted a new audience to the field. And there's no better ambassador (or dinner-party host, I'd wager) than Eugenia Cheng. -- Alex Bellos * New York Times *
Quirky recipes, personal anecdotes and a large dollop of equations are the key ingredients in this alternative guide to maths and the scientific process. You should find it as easy as cooking a pie. * Observer *
A brilliant gourmet feast of what maths is really about -- Ian Stewart, author of * Professor Stewart’s Incredible Numbers *
A concert pianist, mathematician, polyglot and now YouTube star, Cheng has carved out quite a niche for herself demystifying maths through cake. It's a Beautiful-Mind-meets-Scott-Pilgrim kind of mission, and Cheng brings to it an ebullient enthusiasm that's infectious * Guardian *
An entertaining introduction to the beauty of mathematics by drawing on insights from the kitchen * Times Educational Supplement *
Cheng's own personality really shines through. By conversing with her audience as equals, readers will likely connect with her, which in turn brings down the barriers to the subject...For readers who have even a pinch of native interest, she has masterfully lowered the mental barriers to new vistas. The book makes almost no mathematical demands of the reader, and yet explains ideas around maths, throughout. It is so seamless and so painless, it is quite brilliant * Bookmunch *
Deliciously lively...It is Cheng's delightful descriptions of her gastronomic adventures that bring the mathematics to life * Times Higher Education *
ISBN: 9781781252888
Dimensions: 196mm x 126mm x 22mm
Weight: 220g
304 pages
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