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Math Without Numbers

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The only numbers in this book are the page numbers.

Math Without Numbers is a vivid and wholly original guide to the three main branches of abstract math - topology, analysis, and algebra - which turn out to be surprisingly easy to grasp. Milo Beckman upends the conventional approach to mathematics, inviting you to think creatively about shape and dimension, the infinite and infinitesimal, symmetries, proofs, and how these concepts all fit together. How many shapes are there? Is anything bigger than infinity? And can mathematics even be described as 'true'?

'With charm, unwavering enthusiasm, and a lot of cartoons, Math Without Numbers waltzes the reader through a garden of higher mathematics' Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong

© Milo Beckman 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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Critic reviews

So delightful! Mathematics is playful, surprising, and enchanting, but those qualities are often obscured behind intimidating equations and formalism. Milo Beckman brings them out into the open for everyone to share. (Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden)
A playful paean to the pleasures of studying higher math ... readers with an abundance of curiosity and the time to puzzle over Beckman's many examples, riddles, and questions, will make many fascinating discoveries.
A pleasant, amusing look at mathematics as a description of everything.
With charm, unwavering enthusiasm, and a lot of cartoons, Math Without Numbers waltzes the reader through a garden of higher mathematics (Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not To Be Wrong)
Math Without Numbers explores deep mathematical topics-and shows how mathematicians think-in completely readable prose. The puzzles and games are bonuses. Very enjoyable (Will Shortz, crossword editor)
The book's accessible language and illustrations makes understanding some of the most complex (and possibly most intimidating) math concepts feel as effortless as breathing. Beckman's approachable writing and Erazo's delightful illustration combine to tell an insightful and entertaining story about math (Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec, co-authors of Dear Data)
This is the book for you if you've ever been curious about the wonderful ideas and concepts underlying modern math, but been too frightened to make a start. Milo Beckman gives us a friendly introduction to unfamiliar concepts and ideas that show why modern math is such a fascinating and rewarding branch of human thought (Graham Farmelo, author of The Universe Speaks in Numbers)
Math Without Numbers offers an accessible and whimsically illustrated glimpse of what pure mathematicians study, all while capturing the playful spirit with which they do it (Grant Sanderson, creator of 3blue1brown)
A playful paean to the pleasures of studying higher math...Readers with an abundance of curiosity and the time to puzzle over Beckman's many examples, riddles, and questions, will make many fascinating discoveries
All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyed thinking about math in this way. Especially the way it aligns with the world we see.
and hear.

Great way of thinking about math(s)

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