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We've Got Your Number: Why Everything in the Universe is Numbers...Including You
Numbers are all around us. They can explain where electricity comes from, why we look like our parents, why moons revolve around planets, and why it's so hard to win the lottery. Arranged in thematic chapters that are easy for the non-mathematical mind to navigate and understand, We've Got Your Number investigates all aspects of math and numbers. As an added bonus, each chapter also contains concise and accessible mathematical fun facts in one of four Good at Sums , which profiles great mathematicians; Try This at Home , entertaining number games and puzzles; What's Your Problem? , common real-life math challenges like calculating the size of the Earth (don't worry it shows you how to solve them); and What's In a Number? a fact-file 'biography' filled with iconic numbers as zero, 1, 3, 'unlucky' 13 and 1 million.
- GenresMathematics
96 pages, Hardcover
First published July 9, 2013
About the author
Mukul Patel
13 books1 followereditor for DK publishing, editing science & technology titles and developed the content, including animations in liaison with designers, for the Maths section of the DK Encyclopedia of Science II CD-ROM. Was the consultant/contributing editor on Scientific American's How Things Work Today (Marshall Edns) and has also written technology articles for NASDAQ magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 23, 2019
This book offers a fascinating look at the world of numbers and the mathematical systems that humans have created. It describes the myriad number systems, geometric shapes, and mathematics at work in nature and our everyday life.
I love the formatting of the pages - they are very colorful and contain many cartoonish illustrations. I wasn't as much of a fan of the quotes printed sideways on pages 4-7, but thankfully, this technique was not used often.
I was fascinated by the topics, especially the ones that mention fractals, tessellations, and impossible objects.
interesting quotes:
"[Henri] Poincaré called math an 'art' because doing math is not just about following a set of rules to get to an answer: You have to create, explore, juggle with, and even battle with ideas." (p. 6)
"Despite their 'imaginary' part, complex numbers are more real than the real numbers! Our best mathematical models of the universe, which describe how air flows around a wing or electricity flows through cables, for example, all rely on complex numbers." (p. 37)
"Right here on Earth, it's possible to make precisely square wheels roll perfectly smoothly. But you need a special road. The surface needs to be shaped as a series of curves called catenaries. A catenary is the curve that a chain or rope makes as it hangs under gravity from two supports." (p. 38)
"Tessellations have been used for decoration for centuries, especially in Islamic cultures, where religious rules forbid artists from showing the human body." (p. 40)
"When you organize by symmetry, then all of the infinitely many possible patterns of wallpaper turn out to be variations of just 17 basic types." (p. 40)
"In 1970, Gary Anderson designed a symbol based on a Möbius strip that has become recognized worldwide as a symbol for recycling." (p. 45)
"Scaling is also the reason why ants can carry many times their own weight, while larger animals struggle with proportionally much smaller loads. Body weight increases with the cube of height, but muscle strength, which depends on the thickness (area) of muscle fibers, increases only as the square. So larger creatures struggle with proportionally less." (p. 50)
"One of the most interesting properties is the ratio of successive Fibonacci numbers. Farther along the sequence, the ratio between successive numbers (the larger number divided by the smaller) gets closer and closer to an irrational number called the golden ratio, or phi." (p. 53)
"You might think that chaos just means utter confusion. But in math, chaos means something very precise: 'sensitive dependence on initial conditions." (p. 55)
"In all, there are 10 times more bacteria, fungi, and other organisms living on or in you than your own cells (but since they're much smaller, they make up only about 1 percent of your mass)." (p. 57)
"When you're unlocking a combination lock, the order of the digits matters. If the unlocking code is 1689, say, putting in the same digits in another order - 1968 - won't work. So, really these locks ought to be called 'permutation locks!'" (p. 63)
"If you're stuck in a maze, two algorithms could help you get out. The first is the 'random mouse.' At every junction you choose a direction at random. You might get out - but you might end up going around forever. The 'wall following' algorithm is a surefire way to solve a simple maze. You keep one hand in contact with a wall as you walk. Eventually, it will bring you out." (p. 69)
"Buildings have natural frequencies, which means they can be 'tuned' (like violin strings!) so that the wind or tremors don't make them vibrate dangerously." (p. 75)
"One book that is full of hidden math is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (and the other Alice books). Lewis Carroll, who wrote them in the 1860s and 1870s, was a math professor at the University of Oxford in England. A lot of the 'nonsense' in the book has math behind it. Tweedledum and Tweedledee argue with some crafty logic. The Mock Turtle remembers studying 'the different branches of Arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision' (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)." (p. 76)
"Explore a piece of music and you'll find ratios, equations, and symmetries. Both math and music are based on abstract patterns. People who like math are often very musical, and vice versa." (p. 77)
"Symmetry occurs throughout music. There is a canon by J.S. Bach whose notation reads the same upside down and back to front." (p. 77)
I love the formatting of the pages - they are very colorful and contain many cartoonish illustrations. I wasn't as much of a fan of the quotes printed sideways on pages 4-7, but thankfully, this technique was not used often.
I was fascinated by the topics, especially the ones that mention fractals, tessellations, and impossible objects.
interesting quotes:
"[Henri] Poincaré called math an 'art' because doing math is not just about following a set of rules to get to an answer: You have to create, explore, juggle with, and even battle with ideas." (p. 6)
"Despite their 'imaginary' part, complex numbers are more real than the real numbers! Our best mathematical models of the universe, which describe how air flows around a wing or electricity flows through cables, for example, all rely on complex numbers." (p. 37)
"Right here on Earth, it's possible to make precisely square wheels roll perfectly smoothly. But you need a special road. The surface needs to be shaped as a series of curves called catenaries. A catenary is the curve that a chain or rope makes as it hangs under gravity from two supports." (p. 38)
"Tessellations have been used for decoration for centuries, especially in Islamic cultures, where religious rules forbid artists from showing the human body." (p. 40)
"When you organize by symmetry, then all of the infinitely many possible patterns of wallpaper turn out to be variations of just 17 basic types." (p. 40)
"In 1970, Gary Anderson designed a symbol based on a Möbius strip that has become recognized worldwide as a symbol for recycling." (p. 45)
"Scaling is also the reason why ants can carry many times their own weight, while larger animals struggle with proportionally much smaller loads. Body weight increases with the cube of height, but muscle strength, which depends on the thickness (area) of muscle fibers, increases only as the square. So larger creatures struggle with proportionally less." (p. 50)
"One of the most interesting properties is the ratio of successive Fibonacci numbers. Farther along the sequence, the ratio between successive numbers (the larger number divided by the smaller) gets closer and closer to an irrational number called the golden ratio, or phi." (p. 53)
"You might think that chaos just means utter confusion. But in math, chaos means something very precise: 'sensitive dependence on initial conditions." (p. 55)
"In all, there are 10 times more bacteria, fungi, and other organisms living on or in you than your own cells (but since they're much smaller, they make up only about 1 percent of your mass)." (p. 57)
"When you're unlocking a combination lock, the order of the digits matters. If the unlocking code is 1689, say, putting in the same digits in another order - 1968 - won't work. So, really these locks ought to be called 'permutation locks!'" (p. 63)
"If you're stuck in a maze, two algorithms could help you get out. The first is the 'random mouse.' At every junction you choose a direction at random. You might get out - but you might end up going around forever. The 'wall following' algorithm is a surefire way to solve a simple maze. You keep one hand in contact with a wall as you walk. Eventually, it will bring you out." (p. 69)
"Buildings have natural frequencies, which means they can be 'tuned' (like violin strings!) so that the wind or tremors don't make them vibrate dangerously." (p. 75)
"One book that is full of hidden math is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (and the other Alice books). Lewis Carroll, who wrote them in the 1860s and 1870s, was a math professor at the University of Oxford in England. A lot of the 'nonsense' in the book has math behind it. Tweedledum and Tweedledee argue with some crafty logic. The Mock Turtle remembers studying 'the different branches of Arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision' (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)." (p. 76)
"Explore a piece of music and you'll find ratios, equations, and symmetries. Both math and music are based on abstract patterns. People who like math are often very musical, and vice versa." (p. 77)
"Symmetry occurs throughout music. There is a canon by J.S. Bach whose notation reads the same upside down and back to front." (p. 77)
August 9, 2014
If, as Galileo said, “Everything in the universe is written in the language of mathematics,” then I’m in trouble. Math is not my first language, and since I’ve been out of school, I haven’t spoken it much. But he’s right. Math is all around us.
Whether you want to do a Boolean search on your computer, or check the time, or figure out the batting average of your favorite player, you need math. If you want to design a tall building, or compose music, or hang wallpaper, or find the shortest way to get all your errands done after work, you need math. Math is necessary to understand topology, population models, statistics, planetary orbits, gene theory, voting patterns, and insurance. The clear explanations, interesting examples and fact boxes, and fun illustrations make learning about math…well, much less confusing.
Though we’ve leveled this for middle school, it could be used in high school…and beyond.
(Originally reviewed for mackinbooksinbloom.com)
Whether you want to do a Boolean search on your computer, or check the time, or figure out the batting average of your favorite player, you need math. If you want to design a tall building, or compose music, or hang wallpaper, or find the shortest way to get all your errands done after work, you need math. Math is necessary to understand topology, population models, statistics, planetary orbits, gene theory, voting patterns, and insurance. The clear explanations, interesting examples and fact boxes, and fun illustrations make learning about math…well, much less confusing.
Though we’ve leveled this for middle school, it could be used in high school…and beyond.
(Originally reviewed for mackinbooksinbloom.com)
May 12, 2018
Everything really is numbers! Oversized, colorful book packed with mathematical facts and information as well as "try at home" activities. Math is science and art! Helpful text features aid the organization of this resource.
November 29, 2020
Interesting, but not for very young kids (I struggled with some of this book!) Still, fun and stimulating.
Liked it.
Liked it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews