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.
Author(s): Alex Bellos
Edition: Paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
Year: 2011
Language: English
Pages: 448
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
