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How Many Socks Make a Pair?: Surprisingly Interesting Everyday Maths
 
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How Many Socks Make a Pair?: Surprisingly Interesting Everyday Maths (Hardcover)

by Rob Eastaway (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Frequently Bought Together

How Many Socks Make a Pair?: Surprisingly Interesting Everyday Maths + Why Do Buses Come in Threes?: The Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life + How Long Is a Piece of String?
Price For All Three: £18.03

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Product details

  • 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)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 32,091 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #85 in  Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Popular Maths

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Product Description

Product Description

How many socks make a pair? The answer is not always two. And behind this question lies a world of maths that can be surprising, amusing and 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 a 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!


About the Author

Rob Eastaway is one of the UK s leading popularisers of maths. His books include the best-selling 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 entertaining maths talks to audiences of all ages, at venues ranging from The Royal Institution to Pentonville Prison.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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4 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Discover a whole new mathematical world in a fun, yes FUN way!!, 2 Sep 2008
By S. Barnes (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unsurprisingly interesting. , 2 Jan 2009
By Dean Swift (Hertfordshire) - See all my reviews
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.

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A treat to read for oneself and a wonderful gift for family or friends. , 4 Oct 2008
Two trains are approaching each other on the same track, both traveling at 50 mph. When they are exactly 100 miles apart, a fly, traveling at 60 mph, leaves the front window of one train and heads directly towards the 2nd train. When it reaches the front window of the 2nd train it turns (instantaneously) and heads back towards the 1st train, always maintaining its speed of 60mph. When it reaches the front window of the 1st train it turns again and heads back to the 2nd train. It keeps flying between the trains in this manner until the trains meet and the fly is killed. The question is: what total distance does the fly travel before the trains meet?

A mother is 21 years older than her son. In 6 years time she will be 5 times the age of her son. The question is: Where is the father?

Such are the some of the delightful problems or puzzles that the author sets us and then proceeds to show us how to answer in surprisingly easy ways, using everyday maths. So don't be put off by the idea that maths is dull, boring or not something that we can all use and enjoy. After all, everyone does use maths in some form every day in lots of ways.

By the time you are finished this highly engaging book you will be able to square (in your head!) any number between 1 and 100. For instance, 37 x 37 = 1369 and so on. I have already impressed my long suffering family with that one.

He also shows us some card tricks and how to win at Penney Ante 88% of the time - definitely worth a congratulatory round of drinks down at the pub. And there are some chapters on some of the more striking properties of triangles, rectangles etc, and some thoughts on the inherent consistency and beauty of numbers. A wonderful book which can be read in one sitting, or dipped into or revisited from time to time. A treat to read for oneself and a wonderful gift for family or friends.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Delicious Collection of Curisoties from my Mate Rob
Probably aimed at older children and adults, this is another collection of delightful puzzles, surprises and clever ways of thinking about things. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Andy

4.0 out of 5 stars Maths can be fun.
I bought this primarily for my grand daughter aged 13 who shows an interest in maths but found it very interesting reading myself. Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. May

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book
Broad range of topics covered. Each topic is covered in enough depth and always with clear explanations and good use of English.
Published 6 months ago by BookBoy

5.0 out of 5 stars Has something for everyone
This great little book does just what it says - makes maths fun for anyone who never 'got' maths at school and hoped never to see anything on the subject ever again. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Martin Turner

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