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Once Upon a Number: The Hidden Mathematical Logic of Stories
What two things could be more different than numbers and stories? Numbers are abstract, certain, and eternal, but to most of us somewhat dry and bloodless. Good stories are full of life: they engage our emotions and have subtlety and nuance, but they lack rigor and the truths they tell are elusive and subject to debate. As ways of understanding the world around us, numbers...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
October 29th 1998
by Basic Books
(first published 1998)
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This is my least favorite of the three Paulos books I have read; Innumeracy and Irreligion are both great. I was expecting something more interesting, since the comparisons and contrasts between mathematics and stories should have been fun to read.
I got the feeling that he wrote this too fast, not really spending a lot of time making sure what he was writing and what he was thinking made sense to the reader. At times it felt like I was immersed in his stream of consciousness, without any effort...more
I got the feeling that he wrote this too fast, not really spending a lot of time making sure what he was writing and what he was thinking made sense to the reader. At times it felt like I was immersed in his stream of consciousness, without any effort...more
Decent book. It was ok as far as math books go.
I had to give up on this book, not something I do often. I have been trying to read it for a couple of months now, and just can't get into it. I have read one other of John Paulos' books and found it enjoyable, so maybe I need to try this when I'm in a different frame of mind...
My statistics teacher, knowing that I was more literary- than mathematically-minded, asked me to read this book for a final project. I can't thank her enough for bridging the gap between math and my interests. A good read indeed!
Feb 05, 2013
Hank Morgan
marked it as to-read
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