- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: JR Books Ltd (14 Aug 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1906217599
- ISBN-13: 978-1906217594
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
222,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #62 in Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Hobbies & Games > Puzzles & Quizzes > Mathematical Games
- #96 in Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Recreational
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Review
A witty book that provokes the imagination --The Times, August 2008
Fascinating and totally accessible --Ham & High, August 2008
Exudes a friendly charm which is hard to resist --London Maths Society, September 2008
For a non-mathematician, this book is crucial
--Plus Magazine, September 2008
Fascinating and totally accessible --Ham & High, August 2008
Exudes a friendly charm which is hard to resist --London Maths Society, September 2008
For a non-mathematician, this book is crucial
--Plus Magazine, September 2008
Product Description
Do you gaze into your washing basket and wonder how long it'll take to find a pair of socks? Behind this question is a world of maths that can be creative, surprising and sometimes even beautiful. Using playing cards, a newspaper, the back of an envelope, a Sudoku, some pennies and of course a pair of socks, Rob Eastaway shows how maths can demonstrate its secret beauties in even the most mundane of everyday objects. Among the many fascinating curiosities in these pages, you will discover the strange link between limericks and rabbits, an apparently 'fair' coin game where the odds are massively in your favour, why tourist boards can't agree on where the centre of Britain is, and how simple paper folding can lead to a Jurassic Park monster. With plenty of ideas you'll want to test out for yourself, this engaging and refreshing look at mathematics is for everyone. If you already like maths, you'll discover plenty of new surprises. And if you've never picked up a maths book in your life, this one will change your view of the subject forever. Rob Eastaway is one of the UK's leading popularisers of maths. His books include the bestselling Why do buses come in threes? and Beating the odds. He has written numerous newspaper and magazine articles, regularly appears on radio to talk about the maths of everyday life, and has given offbeat maths talks to audiences of all ages, at venues ranging from The Royal Institution to Pentonville Prison.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unsurprisingly interesting.,
By Dean Swift (Hertfordshire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: How Many Socks Make a Pair?: Surprisingly Interesting Everyday Maths (Hardcover)
There are a few everyday maths books out there nowadays, but not many are the equal of Eastaway's clever, curious, witty tour of the way it crops up just about everywhere. If you've read his others, there'll be nothing surprising about how interesting this one is (so, wrong subtitle, but you know what he means), or how accessible (it's beautifully clear), but you might be amused by the examples - I'll try to resist the temptation to give any away. And he smuggles in some serious ideas along the way, though you don't really feel the strain. Brilliant too, for those kids who either are, or aren't disposed to see much fun in maths. Those who do will consume it. Those who don't might be tempted to give it another chance after reading this. I'd been meaning to buy it since I heard him on the Today programme months ago. Should have done sooner.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Discover a whole new mathematical world in a fun, yes FUN way!!,
By
This review is from: How Many Socks Make a Pair?: Surprisingly Interesting Everyday Maths (Hardcover)
I couldn't put this book down! Being a bit of a maths-phobic it took me by surprise, but once I'd started to read about the fascinating world of everyday maths I was hooked.
Forget algebra and algorithms, not to mention quadratic equations, here is maths explained in terms of missing socks, card tricks, birthdays, games involving cutting up envelopes, flipping a coin, sudoku puzzles and much, much more. I now know what a palindrome is, and am starting to see a whole new (potentially beautiful - no exaggeration) side to maths. If only I'd understood these things while at school, it would have brought a whole new dimension to those dreaded maths lessons! There's plenty to engage everyone here, from the maths-phobic to the maths mad. Rob Eastaway may just have succeeded in making maths more popular and understandable to anyone who reads his book. A great book. Very readable.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Maths can be fun.,
By
This review is from: How Many Socks Make a Pair?: Surprisingly Interesting Everyday Maths (Hardcover)
I bought this primarily for my grand daughter aged 13 who shows an interest in maths but found it very interesting reading myself.
I have not been through the whole book yet as it is the sort of book that you can put down and return to time and time again. It is very readable and Rob Eastway comes up with many facts that you could bore people with for hours, many of which are quite counter-intuitive. In fact you would not even know that you are learning about maths. It is not at all dull and this is the point that the author makes very well. I am looking forward to going through the book with my grand daughter on her next visit. If you want a non-technical and interesting book about maths and probability I can thoroughly recommend this.
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