From triangles, rotations and power laws, to fractals, cones and curves, bestsel
ling author Alex Bellos takes you on a journey of mathematical discovery with hi
s signature wit, engaging stories and limitless enthusiasm. As he narrates a ser
ies of eye-opening encounters with lively personalities all over the world, Alex
demonstrates how numbers have come to be our friends, are fascinating and extre
mely accessible, and how they have changed our world. He turns even the dreaded
calculus into an easy-to-grasp mathematical exposition, and sifts through over 3
0,000 survey submissions to reveal the world's favourite number.
In Germany,
he meets the engineer who designed the first roller-coaster loop, whilst in Indi
a he joins the world's highly numerate community at the International Congress o
f Mathematicians. He explores the wonders behind the Game of Life program, and e
xplains mathematical logic, growth and negative numbers. Stateside, he hangs out
with a private detective in Oregon and meets the mathematician who looks for un
iverses from his garage in Illinois.
