Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Event Calendar
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Non-Fiction > Pick up a physical slice of humble pi and learn some math

Pick up a physical slice of humble pi and learn some math

Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors by Matt Parker

March 6, 2021 by Mobius_Walker 2 Comments

Math is everywhere. It is a part of everything we do now. Math developed the roads and bridges we drive on. Math created the buildings we work in (or used to work in, pre-pandemic). Math forms all the technology we use without a second thought. But what happens when the math goes wrong? When someone fudges the numbers or uses the wrong unit? Or when data get deleted? Sometimes what happens is a mild inconvenience that is easily rectified but other times, the results are catastrophic. Humble Pi by Matt Parker walks us through some of those mistakes, what we can learn from them, and how we can avoid similar mistakes next time.

The scope of the type of math (or maths if you’re Australian and British like the author) errors presented in the book is far reaching. Parker does an excellent job of find some sort of error that everyone will find interesting. Overall, he also does a good job of presenting the math and error in a way that anyone could understand even if you don’t have a strong math background. Personally, I think he simplifies things too much. I mean, who is going to pick up a book about math errors except people that already know and love math? I did learn some knew things:

  • it’s possible for a fitness class on a lower floor of skyscraper to cause the upper floors to shake and sway wildly
  • computer programmers and hardware developers need to quickly update a lot of basic things in our electronics or we’re facing a technological doomsday
  • Excel is not to be used as a database

My overall biggest issue with this book is only an issue if you listen to the audiobook which Parker also narrates. I know that the subtitle is A Comedy of Maths Errors, but there are times when Parker’s tone is much too light or glib when discussing a tragic event. Even if the event happened hundreds of years ago, some respect and deference should  be shown to the lives lost.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: humble pi, math, mathematics, maths, Matt Parker

Mobius_Walker's CBR13 Review No:11 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: humble pi, math, mathematics, maths, Matt Parker ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

About Mobius_Walker

CBR13 participantCBR13 CommentsCBR12 participant

Houstonian trying to teach the youths maths and aerial arts while making sure that my pets are healthy and my husband is happy View Mobius_Walker's reviews»

Comments

  1. wicherwill says

    April 2, 2021 at 8:45 pm

    Niche genre! My favorite example of pop sci math book but for the math literate is Simon Singh’s Fermat’s Last Theorem (which I devoured in lieu of roller coasters on a family trip to San Diego eons ago). It was wildly successful in the UK but I don’t know how well known it is stateside, if you haven’t read it I think you’d enjoy it 😀

    Reply
    • Mobius_Walker says

      April 4, 2021 at 9:50 am

      It has been added to my TBR list. Thanks for the rec!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Singsonggirl on Ye Olde ChildrearingCrap, I can't find it on the TV station's website anymore. But it was made by Austrian TV and was in German anyway. One of...
  • Singsonggirl on Perfume – Patrick Suskind (1985)Aaahhh, this is one of my all-time favourite books! I read the ending as a culmination of all the olfactory and sensory impressions? Like it...
  • narfna on Re-reading Mistborn, Era One – Part I: The Final EmpireA re-read would probably be your best bet if you want to continue because Sanderson is the king of bringing back details and making them...
  • wicherwill on Re-reading Mistborn, Era One – Part I: The Final EmpireMy brother suggested this book, and only recently told me / did I realize there were others as well. I don't remember enough of this...
  • llamareadsbooks on “Mouths always open, minds never so”OMG, that is the PERFECT casting. I was thinking this would make an absolutely amazing, brain-twisting movie. And you are so right about Doka, too,...
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in