Description
"At first glance, the worlds of math and the arts might not seem like comfortable neighbors. But as mathematician John D. Barrow points out, they have a strong and natural affinity--after all, math is the study of all patterns, and the world of the arts is rich with pattern. Barrow whisks us through 100 thought-provoking and often whimsical intersections between math and many arts, from the golden ratios of Mondrian's rectangles and the curious fractal-like nature of Pollock's drip paintings to ballerinas' gravity-defying leaps and the next generation of monkeys on typewriters tackling Shakespeare"--Dust jacket flap.
Collection
Publication
W. W. Norton & Company (2016), Edition: 1, 320 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member nbmars
Barrow, a Cambridge University mathematics professor, is also a popularizer of mathematical concepts and advanced physics. This book is a pleasant little collection of 100 short essays on everyday phenomena that people commonly encounter without understanding them. As Barrow demonstrates, the
In these short but fascinating chapters, he sheds light on many seeming mysteries, such as why uncooked spaghetti rarely breaks into just two pieces; why every line in a grocery store seems to move faster than the one you choose; how to calculate the dimensions of a safe zoo enclosure for a tiger; and how to calculate the proper number of guards needed for an art gallery.
One of the neat tidbits in the book is that champion high jumpers are able to clear the bar even though their centers of gravity pass under it! This comes about because of the unusual geometry their bodies assume in the Fosbury Flop. (The Fosbury Flop is a style used in the athletics event of high jump. It was popularized and perfected by American athlete Dick Fosbury, whose gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics brought it to the world's attention.)
Barrow also explains how the shape of a roller coaster makes it possible to run the cars completely upside down without having to strap in the passengers; how to calculate the energy of an atomic explosion just by looking at photographs of it if the photographs contain a distance scale; and how very tall buildings are made to overcome structural and environmental problems.
There is much more: most of the chapters are just a couple of pages long. Since each chapter is virtually unrelated to the others, it makes a wonderful book to place somewhere for periodic sampling.
(JAB)
Rating Dissent by JAF:
It should be noted that while one of us loved this book, and was constantly citing little factoids from it, the other of us found the explanations going over her non-mathematically-minded head. Thus, the male of the house would rate this 4/5 and the female would rate this as “stays on the shelf waiting for my next life when I am more numerically adept.”
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understanding of these events is greatly enhanced by a little math, usually just algebra. Barrow is such an efficient writer that it is difficult to summarize many of his chapters in fewer words than appear in each vignette. In these short but fascinating chapters, he sheds light on many seeming mysteries, such as why uncooked spaghetti rarely breaks into just two pieces; why every line in a grocery store seems to move faster than the one you choose; how to calculate the dimensions of a safe zoo enclosure for a tiger; and how to calculate the proper number of guards needed for an art gallery.
One of the neat tidbits in the book is that champion high jumpers are able to clear the bar even though their centers of gravity pass under it! This comes about because of the unusual geometry their bodies assume in the Fosbury Flop. (The Fosbury Flop is a style used in the athletics event of high jump. It was popularized and perfected by American athlete Dick Fosbury, whose gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics brought it to the world's attention.)
Barrow also explains how the shape of a roller coaster makes it possible to run the cars completely upside down without having to strap in the passengers; how to calculate the energy of an atomic explosion just by looking at photographs of it if the photographs contain a distance scale; and how very tall buildings are made to overcome structural and environmental problems.
There is much more: most of the chapters are just a couple of pages long. Since each chapter is virtually unrelated to the others, it makes a wonderful book to place somewhere for periodic sampling.
(JAB)
Rating Dissent by JAF:
It should be noted that while one of us loved this book, and was constantly citing little factoids from it, the other of us found the explanations going over her non-mathematically-minded head. Thus, the male of the house would rate this 4/5 and the female would rate this as “stays on the shelf waiting for my next life when I am more numerically adept.”
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LibraryThing member readafew
While the title 100 Essential Things is a bit of hyperbole, it is still a fun and interesting read. I happen to like math so I was able to follow the math when it was explained but over half of the chapters there was little or no actual math involved. There was even 2-3 math 'tricks' that non-math
Most of the chapters are fairly low key on the math and most people might find them interesting, a few chapters are more involved but could be easily skipped for those who find it a chore. Overall I found it to be a fun little read, taking a chapter or two at a time in between other activities. I learned a bit, I was reminded of some things I had forgotten and was given some new insight on a few things, so all in all I found this book worth my time.
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people could easily use to stump others. One chapter explains why spaghetti noodles break into at least 3 pieces when bent to the breaking point without using actual math. Another explains conditions that can happen at a race track that will guarantee winnings if the correct betting is followed. There is also a decent explanation of the Monty Hall problem. Most of the chapters are fairly low key on the math and most people might find them interesting, a few chapters are more involved but could be easily skipped for those who find it a chore. Overall I found it to be a fun little read, taking a chapter or two at a time in between other activities. I learned a bit, I was reminded of some things I had forgotten and was given some new insight on a few things, so all in all I found this book worth my time.
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LibraryThing member signature103
100 unconnected unordered blog-entry-like articles explaining the world, but not, as the subtitle suggests, always using mathematics. Fun stuff but the articles were not always put together well. I have found other similar books more stimulating in terms of content and style. Nonetheless it was a
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good easy read. Show Less
LibraryThing member fpagan
The mathematicity behind everyday life. One for short-attention-span readers, with the 100 "chapters" having no order dependence and being at most 4 pages long. Barrow's books used to be deeply meaty, but lately they are of a more easy-reading nature. UK-centric too.
LibraryThing member tintinintibet
The book is comprised of 100 short chapters of 2-3 pages in length. I spent a week reading this book (it feels more like reading a blog where the author's goal is brevity), and a day later....I can probably name 5 memorable topics, and 2 were interesting enough for me to wikipedia the idea
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presented in the short chapter. And probably half the topics will be very familiar to those people who would possibly check this book out from the library. The book seems to be a series of "abstract" summaries of 100 math-y sort of topics. And you must go elsewhere for any real amount of detail. Show Less
LibraryThing member wrightja2000
A lot of the math was difficult for me to understand but I shined through the equations and thought some of the chapters were interesting.
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008