Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical by Johnny Ball

Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical Reviews

• 
  Brian Clegg

  For many people, Johnny Ball's TV programmes were the first indication that mathematics does not have to be frightening or hard work, but could actually be fun. In the introduction to Wonders Beyond Numbers, Ball mentions being particularly inspired by Martin Gardner's books of mathematical puzzles and diversions - as were so many - and Ball's TV programmes had a similar inspirational effect, particularly for younger viewers.
  
  In this chunky (480 page) book, Ball takes on 'a brief history of all things mathematical.' In doing so, he gives us a broad sweep, making things more interesting than would be possible if concentrating purely on the work of mathematicians. So, for example, in starting with the Ancient Greeks, he brings in philosophers who had little direct input to maths, but who helped produce the thought processes that would inspire the big numerical names. Towards the end of the book, there are a good number of physicists brought in who, again, didn't contribute much to mathematics (it's hard to think of less mathematical physicist, for example, than Faraday), but who were contributing to a discipline where maths has become absolutely central.
  
  Wisely, Ball drives the narrative from the people, rather than taking us through a whole list of mathematical disciplines and components. It's not that the branches of mathematics aren't there. We get plenty of geometry, for example, and algebra, number theory, calculus... the works, all the way up to topology and other trendy topics. But it never feels like we're reading a watered-down textbook. The relationship between human beings and mathematics always prevails.
  
  It's often the case with books of this kind that the focus is entirely on Europe, but Ball gives us a satisfying couple of chapters that take in China, India, Central America and the Arabic-speaking world. If anything, this was the best part of the book for me, as it covered material that is less frequently seen and is a real eye-opener.
  
  I also particularly liked the section at the back labelled 'Wow Factor Mathematical Index' which is really more of an appendix, diving into the actual mathematical bits in more detail for those who feel up to it. Here we discover everything from the way that the Ancient Egyptians did division, through a calculation to estimate the length of Archimedes' 'lever to move the Earth', to Al-Khwarizmi's algebra. It was sensible to separate this material off, as it's significantly more detailed than is the rest of the book, but satisfying to have it if required.
  
  Wonders Beyond Numbers delivers a whole lot of maths, mathematical history and biography - if I've a criticism it fits too much in, which means that many of the individual biographical sections are more summary than I would have liked. The result is a book that isn't idea to sit and read end to end. I found it better to dip into on a regular basis - great for commuting or bedtime reads. The speed of coverage meant also that some of the history was a little over-simplified. For example, we are told that the idea the Earth was cylindrical 'remained unchanged for some 700 years'. Yet many philosophers in that period from Aristotle to Eratosthenes (who assumed a spherical Earth in his calculation of its size) considered it a sphere.
  
  If maths has always seemed little more than arithmetic, or you can't see the point of algebra, or it all seems a set of rules handed down from on high at school, without any context of where these ideas came from, this is great book to start making sense of this most remarkable of disciplines.
• 
  Jrobertus

  Ball is a self-taught mathematician who has written scripts for a number of BBC programs. This book is a total hoot, if you are a nerd like I am. Ball gives a breezy but informative tour through some fascinating stories about mathematicians, their lives and times, and their discoveries. Are you interested in knowing how to prove Pythagoras’s theory? Well he will show you how it’s done. How did Eratosthenes accurately measure the circumference of the earth around 200 BC? He used shadows and trigonometry. If Columbus was a smart as the Greeks were, he would never have set sail in 1492. Cultures from the Sumerians to our own time have been intrigued by the ideas of mathematics as well as their practical utility and this book makes the story great fun. It is told in self-contained vignettes that allow you to nibble your way to knowledge at your pace.
• 
  Jeremy

  Johnny Ball is a former television show host with no formal math training. He attempts to give the full history of math and science, starting with the ancient Egyptians. His focus is on pre-modern individuals; he doesn't follow concepts, he just gives the names of individuals and tells us what they discovered or figured out. He generally tries to give a diagram and explanation of what they did, but this was generally unhelpful and not explanatory enough. He doesn't cite anything and gives a very short bibliography of books that have influenced him over the years. His lack of formal training and complete lack of citation leaves a wide open door of question as to the accuracy of this work. I found some of the math interesting which brings this up to a generous two stars.
• 
  Jerrid Kruse

  A bit too focused on individuals to provide context or depth I was hoping for, but the book is a very complete introduction to the people and ideas of mathematics. The book could easily be considered a short history of science as well.
• 
  Sandra

  I read this once before, but don't think I finished it. The problem is Johnny does all these fancy math things, no not arithmetic, and for me to "get it", I need to pencil and paper them. Then it is ah ha!
  So I'll probably read it again. The history he delves into is amazing.
• 
  Jim Foley

  A well-written and entertaining history of Math nad Mathmaticians from earliest tiems to today.
• 
  Ian Lambert

  Great time line and some interesting insights. Mostly enjoyable but some of the summaries are a bit unusual and the descriptions of mathematical diagrams a bit perplexing.
• 
  Michael

  I have never read a book with more typos
• 
  Barb Johnson

  DNF
• 
  Holly

  This book was actually quite interesting, if you enjoy mathematics and history, because you get a lot of it, if you read this book. Johnny Ball’s writing style was great and he filled the rest in with facts, puzzles, and pictures to help the reader to get involved, unlike a text book. He started off the book with the math behind the pyramids, which is actually the reason why I started reading it. Johnny Ball wrote about many people from Aristotle, Plato, Newton to Albert Einstein.
  
  To be honest, I like math and history, so I enjoyed reading it. But if you do not like math or history, then don’t ever pick this book up. There were parts of the book that keep me reading and there were parts that did not interest me at all. So, if you are a math or history geek, then you might enjoy this book.
• 
  Jerome Parmer

  Too small illustrations. History over simplified
  
• 
  Gilles Demaneuf

  Very good. Highly worth it.