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The Proof and the Pudding: What Mathematicians, Cooks, and You Have in Common
Tantalizing math puzzles and cooking recipes that show how mathematical thinking is like the culinary arts
Tie on your apron and step into Jim Henle's kitchen as he demonstrates how two equally savory pursuits―cooking and mathematics―have more in common than you realize. A tasty dish for gourmets of popular math, The Proof and the Pudding offers a witty and flavorful blend of mathematical treats and gastronomic delights that reveal how life in the mathematical world is tantalizingly similar to life in the kitchen.
Take a tricky Sudoku puzzle and a cake that fell. Henle shows you that the best way to deal with cooking disasters is also the best way to solve math problems. Or take an L-shaped billiard table and a sudden desire for Italian potstickers. He explains how preferring geometry over algebra (or algebra over geometry) is just like preferring a California roll to chicken tikka masala. Do you want to know why playfulness is rampant in math and cooking? Or how to turn stinky cheese into an awesome ice cream treat? It’s all here: original math and original recipes plus the mathematical equivalents of vegetarianism, Asian fusion, and celebrity chefs.
Pleasurable and lighthearted, The Proof and the Pudding is a feast for the intellect as well as the palate.
Tie on your apron and step into Jim Henle's kitchen as he demonstrates how two equally savory pursuits―cooking and mathematics―have more in common than you realize. A tasty dish for gourmets of popular math, The Proof and the Pudding offers a witty and flavorful blend of mathematical treats and gastronomic delights that reveal how life in the mathematical world is tantalizingly similar to life in the kitchen.
Take a tricky Sudoku puzzle and a cake that fell. Henle shows you that the best way to deal with cooking disasters is also the best way to solve math problems. Or take an L-shaped billiard table and a sudden desire for Italian potstickers. He explains how preferring geometry over algebra (or algebra over geometry) is just like preferring a California roll to chicken tikka masala. Do you want to know why playfulness is rampant in math and cooking? Or how to turn stinky cheese into an awesome ice cream treat? It’s all here: original math and original recipes plus the mathematical equivalents of vegetarianism, Asian fusion, and celebrity chefs.
Pleasurable and lighthearted, The Proof and the Pudding is a feast for the intellect as well as the palate.
- GenresMathematics
176 pages, Hardcover
First published April 26, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 12, 2020
I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a sincere interest in cooking or mathematics and a passing interest in the other. For me, I adore cooking and have a passing interest in math. So the recipes and cooking stories kept me reading, but the real take-away I got was a reminder that I love the playful, puzzling aspects of math problems (which I admittedly haven't done much since school). So thanks to Jim Henle for the fun read, I look forward to trying out some of these recipes (especially the Sans Rival and the final eponymous pudding) as well as revisiting the math puzzles (probably with some friends - there's strength in numbers).
March 28, 2020
A fun, quick read!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews