The Maths Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by D.K. Publishing

The Maths Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained Reviews

• 
  Al Bità

  This reader-friendly introduction to the world of Mathematics is a joy to peruse. D K Publishing has provided a colourful, informative product which is quite extensive in its range: from its beginnings (Ancient and Classical Periods, 6000 BCE–500 CE); the Middle Ages (500–1500); the Renaissance 1500–1680); the Enlightenment (1680–1800); the 19th Century (1800–1900); and Modern Mathematics (1900–Present).
  
  By presenting this history chronologically one can read this work from Go to Whoa, much like a novel. Each of the subjects are discussed and written for the benefit of non-mathematicians, with plenty of diagrams, charts, informative boxed inserts, quotations, and mini biographies of relevant personalities. At the same time, because a specific maths subject does not necessarily limit itself to a specific time-table, each section shows before-and-after boxes, as well as cross references to other sections relating to the subject in question — so the reader interested in any one particular concept in maths can follow previous historical lead-ups and further future developments at one’s leisure.
  
  It is an unfortunate fact of modern life that many people, for whatever reason, find maths “abhorrent” — unusual at a time when so much of modern living is dominated by maths in just about every form, and universally. This book goes a long way to help familiarise ordinary people with what the issues are in each of the various branches of maths. This does not mean that one will fully comprehend the deeper recesses of these worlds, but it does make the “monster” less frightening and more accessible — and maybe kindle some enthusiasm in exploring specific ideas which might prove to be more appealing than one originally thought…
• 
  plainzt

  Alfa Yayınlarının DK serisini beğeniyorum. Daha önce Ekonomi kitabını kardeşim okumuştu, ben de göz gezdirmiştim. Alanında gerçekten uzman ve çoğu eğitmen de olan onlarca yazarın bir araya gelmesiyle oluşturulan "katkı verenlerin" ortaya çıkardığı bu başvuru kaynakları ele alınan konuyu tarihi gelişimiyle, alana katkı yapmış önemli isimleri tanıtarak, anlaşılır bir dille aktarıyor ve anlatılanları günlük hayata bağlayarak önemli bir eksiği kapatıyor.
  
  Matematik kitabını beğendim. Çeviri gayet iyi. Anlamadığım epeyce yer olduğunu itiraf etmem lazım fakat bu benim eksikliğim. Anlatılanların günümüz teknolojisine, tarihi olaylara ya da kişilere bağlanmasını çok sevdim. Tek eleştirim şu; metnin düzeltilmeye ihtiyacı var. Bazı yerlerde İngilizce başlıklar, kısaltmalar çevrilmeden kalmış. Kimi paragraflar tekrar etmiş metinde. Ard arda aynı paragrafı okuyunca şaşırdım bazen.
  
  İl halk kütüphanesinden ödünç almıştım kitabı. Her kütüphaneye kazandırılmalı bu seri.
• 
  Patron

  Math was always one of those things that I was supposed to be good at (ha ha, Asian) but failed to excel in due to my brain working way too fast to ever get used to the intricacies of proofs and equations. Despite this, I've always thought the theory behind different branches of math was something I ought to have gotten into a long time ago, so I picked up this encyclopedia in the hopes that it would steer me on the right track, especially since I have a required math class next semester. Unfortunately, while I did legitimately enjoy it, this book is also a rather unusual example of the statement that theory needs to go along with praxis. We're not talking about political action here this time; this encyclopedia describes a lot of aspects of math enough for me to maintain my interest in it, but it made me realize that there are a lot of details of math that are just impossible to understand without examples (yes, I know this was stupidly obvious for me not to have realized) and this book is unfortunately low on giving them. Of course, the Big Ideas Simply Explained formula doesn't neatly fit in with academic texts, but in that sense reading this entry without them as companions seems to be fairly pointless. There are a lot of neat facts here that I enjoyed reading about, but I unfortunately didn't receive the help I thought I would got from The Maths Book.
• 
  Raize

  Me ha gustado mucho porque explica muchas cosas y de un modo pa tontos y lo hace interesante. Muy bueno.
• 
  Richard Howard

  I taught high school maths for 40 years and wish this book had been around then. It is a fascinating overview of the complex and beautiful world of mathematics though by necessity it does not delve too deeply into its subject matter. And it is mercifully free of abstruse symbols making it a lot more accessible.
  Nevertheless I didn't understand a lot of it, having stopped my mathematical studies at university, but was still able to appreciate the amazing creativity and artistic intelligence required to create new mathematical ideas.
• 
  Tue Le

  This book contains a number of oversimplifications and inaccuracies, but is overall a decent overview of mathematics for non-specialists.
• 
  Yadah

  The Maths Book is historical math, where you can learn math in history! The book talks about calculus, statistics, probability, algebra, and the people who created them!
  
  In this book, each part is sorted into a content. The contents are: “Ancient and Classical Periods” (6000 BCE-500 CE), “The Middle Ages” (500-1500), “The Renaissance” (1500-1680), “The Enlightenment” (1680-1800), “The 19th Century” (1800-1900), and “Modern Mathematics” (1900-present)
  
  In each chapter, there are “In Context” which includes, Key Figures, Field, Before, and After.
  The book also has illustrations, which is super handy, as one would understand much more with colourful images. And in almost every page there are quotes people have said. For example, in one of the pages, Pierre-Simon Laplace said “Probability theory is nothing but common sense reduced to calculation” Plus, usually, on the side of the page, there would be a paragraph about the person’s life. (And their key works)
  
  What I really like about this book is that it’s very organised and have very clear wordings in it.
  My favourite part of the book was when it talked about cryptography and the deciphering process. It seemed intriguing to me (don’t ask, I really don’t know why).
  
  I definitely recommend it. Very simple to understand. 10/10 stars. (I know there aren’t that many, just pretend)
• 
  Sergii

  The book covers a wide variety of topics and does a good job in following the history of mathematics. However it really is more of an encyclopedia than a book - each topic is 2-4 pages. They are not connected among themselves and many are boring to read following a simple pattern “person A studied in B and discovered C which is used in X,Y,Z practical applications”. The book manages to explain some topics in a nice way giving a taste of both the mathematical idea and the story behind it while completely failing for others. I am not sure what is the intended purpose of this book, in my opinion it is neither a good introduction to the world of mathematics nor an interesting excursion into its history. It did inspire me to an extent but only because I was already familiar with most of the ideas discussed.
• 
  Jack

  The sub-title is "Big Ideas Simply Explained", and my claim is that most of math in the book isn't explained. It's more like casual exposure to math, presented in chronological order. I gave up on this book pretty quickly because it's not going to propel me towards mathematical maturity.
  
  1/5 for people who want to get better at math
  
  4/5 for people who might just want a cursory glance at various maths topics.
• 
  Valeria Avramenko

  Not a lazy read for sure, hence taking me almost exactly a year to finish it. I loved the format – encyclopedia style, yet following chronological order and putting mathematical concepts and ideas in context. I especially liked notes on people themselves – whoever is in focus – some idea of what their life was about. Not sure how accessible it is for people fully outside of mathematics, but it's as simplified as it gets, giving you the main idea and references for further research.
• 
  Robert

  really good read....was able to go thru it quickly---easy to understand and made complex concepts very simple. Really worth a read on a rainy day if you want to learn about basic math concepts that are otherwise complex---gives good context for their development as well
• 
  Paweł Rusin

  I really love books from this series. It presents groundbreaking ideas from the mathematics, across the history. Allowed me to get some better intuition about some of the math concepts and get up to date with the biggest problems that researches are facing currently.
• 
  David

  The best account of the chronological history of maths and mathematicians that I've read. Readable, insightful and appears to have aimed for diversity.
• 
  Indah Threez Lestari

  353 - 2020
• 
  Tom Hughes

  Absolutely a must read
  
  This book is not only a history of mathematics, but is a great introduction to the different concepts and the people who developed them.
• 
  Paññādhammika Bhikkhu

  Best book for the history of maths. Only some maths are explained, but it's fun.
• 
  Hafiz Hussain

  Wow
• 
  Ioan Simiciuc

  Not so much a book of math, as I was expecting, more about the history of math.
• 
  Brandi

  *DNF*
  
  My 9th grader hates this book and I must admit It was quite boring. It was apart of her homeschool curriculum and we didn’t even finish reading it.
• 
  Parteek

  Amazing book!! the history of math is explained very well. I am still on my way to finish this book.