As Easy As Pi: Stuff about numbers that isn't (just) maths [Paperback] [Jun 25, 2015] Jamie Buchan (I Used to Know That ...) - Softcover

Buchan, Jamie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 178243433X ISBN 13: 9781782434337

Publisher: Michael O'Mara, 2015

Synopsis

Numbers are all-pervasive in our world; Pythagoras even said they rule the universe. This guide to the numbers of everyday life explains how they influence our religion, myth, fiction and linguistic idioms, why some numbers are considered lucky or unlucky, how they are exploited in games and scams, and their vital role in the realms of mathematics and science.

About this title

About the Author:

Jamie Buchan, formerly a Queen's Scholar of Westminster School and now an undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh, has always been interested by the mathematical and cultural significance of numbers. He is a great-grandson of the writer and statesman John Buchan (first Lord Tweedsmuir), whose definitive thrillers, among them The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle, have been bestsellers for many years; The Thirty-Nine Steps has been filmed three times - memorably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935, with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. A nephew of the highly regarded novelist James Buchan and the gardening writer and journalist Ursula Buchan, he is also related to the bestselling novelist Elizabeth Buchan. In short, books are in his blood, although he makes no claim for his own writing as against the works of his distinguished relations. This, his first book, shows that numbers are also in his blood; not only did John Buchan write The Thirty-Nine Steps, but among his other novels are The Three Hostages and The House of the Four Winds.

Review:

Fascinating... as much for those who hated maths at school as it is for those who love numbers The Lady A fab gift for anyone who loves facts and figures about numbers. It'll keep anoraks like me amused for hours. I loved it! Now A hotchpotch of facts about numbers. interesting in the Stephen Fry style Irish Examiner An entertaining and accessible introduction to the world of numbers... offers a selection of offbeat information to delight any enthusiast of the subject Waterstones Books Quarterly Buchan explores [numbers'] inescapable influence in everything... Astonishingly comprehensive for its size, this little book is wonderfully addictive The Good Book Guide

About this edition

• Publisher: Michael O'Mara
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 178243433X
• ISBN 13: 9781782434337
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176