21–28 of 28 posts
John Derbyshire's Unknown Quantity - A real and imaginary history of algebra
David Well's The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers
William Dunham's The Mathematical Universe - An Alphabetical Journey Through the Great Proofs, Problems and Personalities
Alex Bello's Alex's Adventures in The Numberland - Dispatches from the wonderful world of mathematics
My family weren't particularly science-focussed, so the fact that the (fairly small) library had several books like this was a real godsend.
The book talks and tells stories about the history of statistics, probability and risk. I came first from a poker background before I did my BA then MSc in Math & Stats. It reignited some of my dwindling passion.
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid Douglas Hofstadter
Sitting on my shelf. Haven't had the courage to start it.
For a classic book dealing with “big” topics like math, music, and philosophy, it’s surprisingly accessible because Hofstadter is able explain complex things in the simplest way possible, which is a hallmark of great writing (not to mention great intellect).
My aptitude in math is slightly above average at best (and way below among my fellow geeks, who tend to be good at stuff like that), so I think you’ll be fine when you do decide to crack it open.
- https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22YAKOV+PERE...
2. Men of Mathematics and Mathematics: Queen and Servant of Science both by E.T.Bell
- https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Bell%2C+Er...
3. More recently, i found Who Is Fourier?: A Mathematical Adventure excellent. It is written in "manga" style but the contents are great! Every student should read this.
Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning