Reviews"Many consider maths a difficult and dry subject. But the baking-basedanalogies and fun tangents used to demonstrate the various ideas in the bookare entertaining and diminish the mental gymnastics that abstract maths canrequire."-- BBC Focus (UK), "Combined with infectious enthusiasm for cooking and a zest for life,Cheng's perspective on math becomes this singular book: a funny, lively, andclear journey no popular book on math has explored before. How to BakePi ...will dazzle, amuse, and enlighten."-- Gambit Weekly, "[A] superb study of the mathematics of infinity... Acknowledging thedifficulties the proofs present, Cheng wisely provides readers with reasonablyaccessible equations, useful graphics, and entertaining and straightforwardexplanations... [Her] enthusiasm for mathematics is infectious and readerscurious about the mathematics of infinity will find her to be a worthy guide."-- Publishers Weekly, "[Cheng] masterfully describes whatmathematics is. This includes careful and motivated descriptions of the ideasand methods of abstractions, generalization, logic, and axiomatization.... Thisbook is entertaining, insightful, deep and accessible."-- Mathematical Reviews, "What a charming and original book! The central analogy-math is like cooking-turns out to be surprisingly apt and often funny. Light and tasty, yet so, so good for you, How to Bake Pi is a real treat." -- Steven Strogatz, Professor of Mathematics, Cornell University and author of The Joy of x, "[D]eliciously lively.... It is Cheng's delightful descriptions of hergastronomic adventures that bring the mathematics to life.... If [the book]doesn't succeed in exciting you about mathematics, it will certainly change theway you approach baking."-- Times Higher Education (UK), "Ms. Cheng's chatty tone keeps things fresh. She has aknack for folksy analogies, and at different points in the book she illuminatesdifferent properties of infinity by discussing Legos, the iPod Shuffle,snorkeling, Battenberg cakes and Winnie-the-Pooh... she does a great service byshowing us non-mathematician schlubs how real mathematical creativity works."-- Wall Street Journal, "Invoking plenty of examples from cooking and baking, as well as othereveryday-life situations such as calculating a taxi fare, searching for lovethrough online dating services and training for a marathon, [Cheng] explainsabstract mathematical ideas-including topology and logic-in understandableways.... Her lively, accessible book demonstrates how important and intriguingsuch a pursuit can be."-- Scientific American, "Our minds cannot truly grasp the concept of infinity, but EugeniaChang takes us on a wild journey to help us in our search for it. It's a small,unassuming symbol-8-but it holds a giant idea. Cheng helps us understand thebasics of infinity and then takes us on a ride to see its most loftyapplications. From the practical to the entirely theoretical, this is a book towatch for."-- Paste Magazine, "From clotted cream to category theory, neither cookery nor math are what you thought they were. But deep down they're remarkably similar. A brilliant gourmet feast of what math is really about." -- Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, and author of Visions of Infinity and Professor Stewart's Incredible Numbers, "In her new book, How to Bake Pi ,mathematician/baker Eugenia Cheng offers a novel, mathematical approach tocooking.... How to Bake Pi is more than amathematically-minded cookbook. It is just as much a book about mathematicaltheory and how we learn it. The premise at the heart of the book is that theproblem that stops a cookbook from teaching us how to cook is the same problemthat makes math classes so bad at actually teaching us to do math."-- Ria Misra, io9, "Cheng is exceptional at translating theabstract concepts of mathematics into ordinary language, a strength aided by awriting style that showcases the workings of her curious, sometimes whimsicalmind. This combination allows her to demystify how mathematicians think andwork, and makes her love for mathematics contagious."-- Publishers Weekly, starred review, "Eugenia Cheng offers an entertaining introduction to the beauty ofmathematics by drawing on insights from the kitchen. She explains why baking aflourless cake is like geometry and offers puzzles to whet the appetites ofmaths fans."-- Times Educational Supplement (UK), "Math is a lot like cooking. We start with the ingredients we have at hand, try to cook up something tasty, and are sometimes surprised by the results. Does this seem odd? Maybe in school all you got was stale leftovers! Try something better: Eugenia Cheng is not only an excellent mathematician and pastry chef, but a great writer, too." -- John Baez, Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Riverside, "Eugenia Cheng'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 messy desk. Cheng is at home with math the way you're at home with brownies, maps, and desks, and by the end of How to Bake Pi , you might be, too." -- Jordan Ellenberg, Professor of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of How Not to Be Wrong, "Beginning eachchapter with a recipe, Cheng converts the making of lasagna, pudding, cookies,and other comestibles into analogies illuminating the mathematical enterprise.Though these culinary analogies teach readers about particular mathematicalprinciples and processes, they ultimately point toward the fundamentalcharacter of mathematics as a system of logic, a system presenting dauntingdifficulties yet offering rare power to make life easier. Despite her zeal formathematical logic, Cheng recognizes that such logic begins in faith -irrational faith - and ultimately requires poetry and art to complement itsfindings. A singular humanization of the mathematical project."-- Booklist, starred review, "With this delightfully surprising book, Eugenia Cheng reveals the hidden beauty of mathematics with passion and simplicity. After reading How 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, "[A] slyly illuminating dispatch on the deep meaning of mathematics....Cheng manages 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, "This is the best book imaginable to introduce someone who doesn'tthink they are interested in mathematics at all to some of the deep ideas ofcategory theory, especially if they like to bake."-- MAA Reviews, "Through an enthusiasm for cooking and zest for life, the author, amath professor, provides a new way to think about a field we thought we knew."-- Chemical Engineering Progress, "Quirky recipes, personal anecdotes and a large dollop of equations arethe key ingredients in this alternative guide to maths and the scientificprocess. You should find it as easy as cooking a pie." -- The Observer, Tech Monthly (UK), "Why go to all the trouble to write a bookto help people understand mathematics? Because, as Cheng observes,'understanding is power, and if you help someone understand something, you'regiving them power.' Read How to Bake Pi and you will, indeed, go away feeling empowered."-- Marc Merlin, Medium, "I never thought I would discover a book about mathematics that's actually cozy-armchair and scone cozy. Eugenia Cheng has created some delicious associations in my mind that are there to stay: succulent axioms, logical cake, Mbius bagels, and pentagon custard. Off to my oven!" -- Leila Schneps, Professor of Mathematics at the Institut de Mathmatiques de Jussieu of Pierre and Marie Curie University, and author of Math on Trial, "An original book using recipes to explain sophisticated math conceptsto students and even the math-phobic.... [Cheng] is a gifted teacher... Asharp, witty book to press on students and even the teachers of math teachers."-- Kirkus Reviews, "Cheng never quite overeggs her metaphor of the mathematician aschef...and her tone is clear, clever and friendly. Even at her most whimsicalshe is rigorous and insightful. Potentially confusing ideas are expressed witha matter-of-fact simplicity.... How to Bake Pi is a welcome addition to the popular-math shelf, unusual not only because ofits quirky premise but also because Cheng is a woman, a lucid and nimbleexpositor, and unashamedly proud of her domestic obsessions.... It would bewonderful if this book attracted a new audience to the field. And there's nobetter ambassador (or dinner-party host, I'd wager) than Eugenia Cheng."-- Alex Bellos, New York Times Book Review, "[Cheng's] book, a very gentle introduction to the main ideas ofmathematics in general and category theory in particular, exudes enthusiasm formathematics, teaching, and creative recipes. Category theory is dangerouslyabstract, but Cheng's writing is down-to-earth and friendly. She's the kind ofperson you'd want to talk to at a party, whether about math, food, music, orjust the weather.... Cheng's cheerful, accessible writing and colorful examplesmake How to Bake Pi anentertaining introduction to the fundamentals of abstract mathematicalthinking."-- Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American's "Roots of Unity" blog, "[T]his book was fun and covered some cool maths, using some nice analogies, and would serve as a good intro for someone getting into category theory." -- The Aperiodical (UK), "The idea of infinity is one of the most perplexing things in mathematics, and the most fun. Eugenia Cheng's Beyond Infinity is a spirited and friendly guide--appealingly down to earth about math that's extremely far out." -- Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong and professor of mathematics at University of Wisconsin-Madison, " Beyond Infinity is witty, charming, and crystal clear. . Eugenia Cheng's enthusiasm and carefully chosen metaphors and analogies carry us effortlessly through the mathematical landscape of the infinite. A brilliant book."-- Ian Stewart, author of Calculating the Cosmos, "[O]ften entertaining...frequently illuminating.... [ How to Bake Pi ] offers enough nourishment for the brain tochew on for a long time."-- Columbus Dispatch, "Unique to this text is the friendly and conversational style withwhich the author communicates her passion for mathematics. Cheng succeeds inoffering a taste of creativity in mathematics research, reminding the readerthat mathematics is fun because 'you can have anything that you can think of.The only caveat is that you have to take all the logical consequences of yournew toy as well'. Her passion for research is unassuming and adds a humanisticsensitivity to the book's central quest."-- Mathematics Teacher, "One of the most frustrating parts about teaching or conveying mathematics concepts is that they don't just seem abstract, they are abstract. Dr. Cheng does an amazing job of making these abstract concepts tangible, guiding the reader to stretch our brains just a little past the comfortable zone to help us comprehend complex mathematical concepts. This book puts the fun back in math, the fun that I always saw in it, the fun that is nearly sucked from it in K-12 education.... I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone with a casual interest in, or deep love of, logic, or mathematics, or baking." -- Melissa A. Wilson Sayres, Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences and the Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University and writer of the mathbionerd.blogspot.com blog
IllustratedYes
Dewey Decimal160
SynopsisHow both logical and emotional reasoning can help us live better in our post-truth world In a world where fake news stories change election outcomes, has rationality become futile? In The Art of Logic in an Illogical World, Eugenia Cheng throws a lifeline to readers drowning in the illogic of contemporary life. Cheng is a mathematician, so she knows how to make an airtight argument. But even for her, logic sometimes falls prey to emotion, which is why she still fears flying and eats more cookies than she should. If a mathematician can't be logical, what are we to do? In this book , Cheng reveals the inner workings and limitations of logic, and explains why alogic--for example, emotion--is vital to how we think and communicate. Cheng shows us how to use logic and alogic together to navigate a world awash in bigotry, mansplaining, and manipulative memes. Insightful, useful, and funny, this essential book is for anyone who wants to think more clearly., How both logical and emotional reasoning can help us live better in our post-truth world In a world where fake news stories change election outcomes, has rationality become futile? In The Art of Logic in an Illogical World, Eugenia Cheng throws a lifeline to readers drowning in the illogic of contemporary life. Cheng is a mathematician, so she knows how to make an airtight argument. But even for her, logic sometimes falls prey to emotion, which is why she still fears flying and eats more cookies than she should. If a mathematician can't be logical, what are we to do? In this book, Cheng reveals the inner workings and limitations of logic, and explains why alogic -- for example, emotion -- is vital to how we think and communicate. Cheng shows us how to use logic and alogic together to navigate a world awash in bigotry, mansplaining, and manipulative memes. Insightful, useful, and funny, this essential book is for anyone who wants to think more clearly.