In ‘Alex’s Adventures in Numberland’, Alex Bellos delves into the magical and wonderful world of mathematics, using easily understandable examples and fascinating anecdotes to explain complex abstract concepts, sparking our hidden curiosity for maths beyond the dreary classroom.
By creating a narrative that feels like an adventure rather than a math lesson, he helps prove that maths isn’t just for maths geeks—it’s for everyone!
Bellos takes us on a tour through the ‘land of numbers’ from the beginning of time, intertwining both history and maths to understand how mathematics has shaped human civilization.
We start from chapter zero to signify pre-mathematics and begin the evolution of numbers from ancient civilizations to modern conjectures that are still yet to be proven.
This offers readers a sense of wonder and respect for those who first wrestled with abstract concepts, for example, the idea of nothing (which first originated in India), when people were genuinely spooked by ‘nothing’ compared to the mind-warping mysteries of infinity that we still fiddle around with today.
He then continues with ideas such as Pi, geometry, and the Fibonacci sequence and a very enjoyable chapter on probability, filled with real-life examples to help with our understanding such as lotteries and gambling machines in Las Vegas, which shows the readers the unexpected ways advanced topics in maths is involved in everyday life (who knew probabilities could help explain your chances in a game of rock-paper-scissors?).
By blending the everyday with the extraordinary, along with humour and enthusiasm, Bellos keeps us, as readers, engaged, despite maths being something you might just zone out on, in a maths class.
Maths is cool, and it’s definitely worth the adventure by reading this book.
It’s part travel diary, part mathematical history, and part mind-bending puzzle, all wrapped up in a delightful package that makes math feel more like a comedy show, perhaps making some fall in love with the mysteries of maths and see the beauty in it.
Bellos opens the door for us to the minds of maths nerds who celebrate Pi to 20,000 decimal places and use Rubik’s Cubes as stress relievers, which may seem daunting when faced with a page of numbers in a book.
But by the end of it though, through his humourous explanations, you might just want to join them and pick up an abacus to go on and become a world champion.
After all, it’s not every day you find a maths book that’s packed with as many laughs as “aha!” moments.
It’s clever, it's funny, and, who knows, it may even make you feel a twinge of affection for numbers.
