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How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics

Autor Eugenia Cheng
en Limba Engleză Paperback – 10 mai 2016
"Whimsical...rigorous and insightful." --New York Times Book Review

What is math? How exactly does it work? And what do three siblings trying to share a cake have to do with it? InHow to Bake Pi, math professor Eugenia Cheng provides an accessible introduction to the logic and beauty of mathematics, powered, unexpectedly, by insights from the kitchen. We learn how the béchamel in a lasagna can be a lot like the number five, and why making a good custard proves that math is easy but life is hard. At the heart of it all is Cheng's work on category theory, a cutting-edge "mathematics of mathematics," that is about figuring out how math works.

Combined with her infectious enthusiasm for cooking and true zest for life, Cheng's perspective on math is a funny journey through a vast territory no popular book on math has explored before. So, what is math? Let's look for the answer in the kitchen.
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Specificații

ISBN-13: 9780465097678
ISBN-10: 0465097677
Pagini: 304
Ilustrații: B/w illustrations throughout
Dimensiuni: 140 x 210 x 22 mm
Greutate: 0.25 kg
Ediția:First Trade Paper Edition
Editura: BASIC BOOKS
Colecția Basic Books

Notă biografică

Eugenia Chengis tenured in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sheffield. She is the Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she currently lives.

Recenzii

"[Cheng's] book, a very gentle introduction to the main ideas of mathematics in general and category theory in particular, exudes enthusiasm for mathematics, teaching, and creative recipes. Category theory is dangerously abstract, but Cheng's writing is down-to-earth and friendly. She's the kind of person you'd want to talk to at a party, whether about math, food, music, or just the weather.... Cheng's cheerful, accessible writing and colorful examples makeHow to Bake Pian entertaining introduction to the fundamentals of abstract mathematical thinking."—Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American's Roots of Unity blog
"[A]slyly illuminating dispatch on the deep meaning of mathematics.... Chengmanages to do for us what the mathematician Keith Devlin has saidmathematicians do for themselves: she compels us to see numbers and symbols asvivid characters in an ongoing drama, a narrative in which we are alternatelyobservers and participants."—Natalie Angier, The American Scholar
"[O]ftenentertaining...frequently illuminating.... [How to Bake Pi] offersenough nourishment for the brain to chew on for a long time."—Columbus Dispatch
"In her new book,How to Bake Pi, mathematician/baker Eugenia Cheng offers a novel, mathematical approach to cooking....How to Bake Piis more than a mathematically-minded cookbook. It is just as much a book about mathematical theory and how we learn it. The premise at the heart of the book is that the problem that stops a cookbook from teaching us how to cook is the same problem that makes math classes so bad at actually teaching us to do math."—Ria Misra, io9
"Chengnever quite overeggs her metaphor of the mathematician as chef...and her toneis clear, clever and friendly. Even at her most whimsical she is rigorous andinsightful. Potentially confusing ideas are expressed with a matter-of-factsimplicity....How to Bake Piis a welcome addition to the popular-mathshelf, unusual not only because of its quirky premise but also because Cheng isa woman, a lucid and nimble expositor, and unashamedly proud of her domesticobsessions.... It would be wonderful if this book attracted a new audience tothe field. And there's no better ambassador (or dinner-party host, I'd wager)than Eugenia Cheng."—Alex Bellos, New York Times Book Review
"Combined with infectious enthusiasm for cooking and a zest for life, Cheng's perspective on math becomes this singular book: a funny, lively, and clear journey no popular book on math has explored before.How to Bake Pi...will dazzle, amuse, and enlighten."
Gambit Weekly
"Invokingplenty of examples from cooking and baking, as well as other everyday-lifesituations such as calculating a taxi fare, searching for love through onlinedating services and training for a marathon, [Cheng] explains abstractmathematical ideas--including topology and logic--in understandable ways....Her lively, accessible book demonstrates how important and intriguing such apursuit can be."—Scientific American
"This is the best book imaginable to introduce someone who doesn't think they are interested in mathematics at all to some of the deep ideas of category theory, especially if they like to bake."—MAA Reviews
"Beginningeach chapter with a recipe, Cheng converts the making of lasagna, pudding,cookies, and other comestibles into analogies illuminating the mathematicalenterprise. Though these culinary analogies teach readers about particularmathematical principles and processes, they ultimately point toward thefundamental character of mathematics as a system of logic, a system presentingdaunting difficulties yet offering rare power to make life easier. Despite herzeal for mathematical logic, Cheng recognizes that such logic begins infaith--irrational faith--and ultimately requires poetry and art to complementits findings. A singular humanization of the mathematical project."—Booklist, starred review
"Chengis exceptional at translating the abstract concepts of mathematics intoordinary language, a strength aided by a writing style that showcases theworkings of her curious, sometimes whimsical mind. This combination allows herto demystify how mathematicians think and work, and makes her love formathematics contagious."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"With this delightfully surprising book, Eugenia Cheng reveals the hidden beauty of mathematics with passion and simplicity. After readingHow to Bake Pi, you won't look at math (nor porridge!) in the same way ever again."—Roberto Trotta, Astrophysicist, Imperial College London and author of The Edge of the Sky
"Mathis a lot like cooking. We start with the ingredients we have at hand, try tocook up something tasty, and are sometimes surprised by the results. Does thisseem odd? Maybe in school all you got was stale leftovers! Try somethingbetter: Eugenia Cheng is not only an excellent mathematician and pastry chef,but a great writer, too."—John Baez, Professor of Math at the University of California, Riverside
"Fromclotted cream to category theory, neither cookery nor math are what you thoughtthey were. But deep down they're remarkably similar. A brilliant gourmet feastof what math isreallyabout."—Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, and author of Visions of Infinity and Professor Stewart's Incredible Numbers
"An original book using recipes to explain sophisticated math concepts to students and even the math-phobic.... [Cheng] is a gifted teacher... A sharp, witty book to press on students and even the teachers of math teachers,"—Kirkus Reviews
"[A]well-written, easy-to-read book."—Library Journal
"Acurious cookbook for the mathematical omnivore."—The Irish Times(Ireland)
"EugeniaCheng's charming new book embeds math in a casing of wry, homespun metaphors:math is like vegan brownies, math is like a subway map, math is like a messydesk. Cheng is at home with math the way you're at home with brownies, maps,and desks, and by the end ofHow to Bake Pi, you might be,too."—Jordan Ellenberg, Professor of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of How Not to Be Wrong
"Whata charming and original book! The central analogy--math is like cooking--turnsout to be surprisingly apt and often funny. Light and tasty, yet so, so goodfor you,How to Bake Piis a real treat."—Steven Strogatz, Professor of Mathematics, Cornell University and author of The Joy of x