Description

The ‘Mozart of mathematics’ (New York Times) takes us on a tour of the core ideas of mathematical thinking

In Six Maths Essentials, the renowned mathematician Terence Tao shows how mathematics has evolved from counting and geometry into a flexible set of tools for understanding an increasingly complex world. He moves effortlessly from children discovering infinity through play, to the numbers that underpin our online lives; from Johannes Kepler using algebra to price a barrel of wine, to curved geometries that explain why GPS works and planes don’t fly in straight lines on a map. Along the way, dice games, insurance policies and financial crises illuminate probability’s promise-and its limits-while deceptively simple rules give rise to chaos, pattern and life itself.

Playful and wise, this is the best entry point for understanding how mathematics works. Contrary to popular perception, maths, Tao insists, isn’t magic-it’s a powerful way of thinking from first principles and modelling the world that anyone can learn.

Publisher Review

Like seeing soccer through Messi’s eyes. Full of piercing insight and genial wisdom, this book made me feel like a kid riding on the shoulders of the world’s smartest grown-up — Ben Orlin, bestselling author of Math with Bad Drawings Terence Tao is one of the great mathematicians of our time-and also one of the most generous. In these pages, he invites us to spend time at his elbow, sharing what he sees across the mathematical landscape and guiding us on a tour of its central ideas — Steven Strogatz, New York Times bestselling author of Infinite Powers, and co-host of The Joy of Why podcast The best mathematician in the world has written the best math book in the world. Like many great mathematical proofs, it’s a model of simplicity, clarity, and beauty. And like many great books, it reveals deep insight not only into the world but how we understand it — John Urschel, former NFL player and co-author of Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football Tao beautifully distills the essence of what math is-from its humblest origins to today’s research frontiers-as only someone with his breadth of knowledge ever could — Grant Sanderson, creator of 3Blue1Brown We’re all blessed that possibly the world’s best living mathematician is also such a talented communicator — Brady Haran, creator of Numberphile The Mozart of mathematics invites us to see through his eyes not just mathematics, but the world. For a moment, we are given a glimpse of a luminous clarity-not a simplicity, but a transparency. Six Maths Essentials is infused with humility and warmth, a generous offering to join Tao for this brief tour of the vista from a lofty perch few can imagine. A rare and gracious experience not to be missed — Janna Levin, Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Barnard College of Columbia University If you’ve ever had even a passing fascination with numbers, this slim volume will rekindle the joy of mathematics for you. Both beautiful and beautifully written — Barry Ritholtz, author of How Not to Invest and host of Masters in Business on Bloomberg Radio