The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz

The Joy of X

A Guided Tour of Math, From One to Infinity

Steven Strogatz

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · October 1, 2013

“Delightful . . . easily digestible chapters include plenty of helpful examples and illustrations.

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Who it’s for
Math's everyday connections arrive with clarity, wit, and illustrations—no recent calculus required.
Themes
Math in everyday life, Math across disciplines
Genres
Mathematics, Mathematics Essays, History & Philosophy of Math

About this book

“Delightful . . . easily digestible chapters include plenty of helpful examples and illustrations. You'll never forget the Pythagorean theorem again!”—Scientific American Many people take math in high school and promptly forget much of it. But math plays a part in all of our lives all of the time, whether we know it or not.

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In The Joy of x, Steven Strogatz expands on his hit New York Times series to explain the big ideas of math gently and clearly, with wit, insight, and brilliant illustrations. Whether he is illuminating how often you should flip your mattress to get the maximum lifespan from it, explaining just how Google searches the internet, or determining how many people you should date before settling down, Strogatz shows how math connects to every aspect of life. Discussing pop culture, medicine, law, philosophy, art, and business, Strogatz is the math teacher you wish you’d had. Whether you aced integral calculus or aren’t sure what an integer is, you’ll find profound wisdom and persistent delight in The Joy of x.

Math in the Everyday

Math's everyday connections arrive with clarity, wit, and illustrations—no recent calculus required.

Come here for

  • Everyday puzzles, from mattress life to Google searches
  • Big mathematical ideas without the old classroom fog

Expect

  • Clear explanations linking math with medicine, art, law, and business
  • Wit and illustrations alongside ideas from integers to infinity

Where it sits

Mathematics61%
Mathematics Essays37%
History & Philosophy of Math25%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Teaching Math
  • Ancient History
  • World History
  • Civilizations
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Mathematics
  • Algebra
  • Applied Math
  • Calculus
Authors
Steven Strogatz
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
October 1, 2013
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Math in everyday life · Math across disciplines
Reading lane
Teaching Math