As Easy As Pi: Stuff about numbers that isn't (just) maths - Hardcover

Buchan, Jamie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1843173557 ISBN 13: 9781843173557

Publisher: Michael O'Mara, 2009

Synopsis

It's hard to imagine a world without numbers in this day and age, when our whole life is centered around commerce and money, and it is the only language that is the same the world over. However, did you know that for a long period of time people could not get their heads around the idea of zero, a figure representing nothing, and that it was even regarded as heretical in some circles? As Easy As Pi is an entertaining and accessible guide, written for those who love numbers - and those who don't - and uncovers a great deal of lore and intriguing information. Including:
. Snippets of fascinating numerical facts
. Myths and mysticism in the world of numbers
. Numbers in language and used as slang
. Pop-culture trivia
. Useful mathematical rules to remember
Taking a quirky and insightful look at the world of numbers, As Easy As Pi will delight and entertain any number enthusiast.

About this title

About the Author

Jamie Buchan, formerly a Queen's Scholar of Westminster School and now an undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh, has always been interested by the mathematical and cultural significance of numbers. He is a great-grandson of the writer and statesman John Buchan (first Lord Tweedsmuir), whose definitive thrillers, among them The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle, have been bestsellers for many years; The Thirty-Nine Steps has been filmed three times - memorably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935, with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. A nephew of the highly regarded novelist James Buchan and the gardening writer and journalist Ursula Buchan, he is also related to the bestselling novelist Elizabeth Buchan. In short, books are in his blood, although he makes no claim for his own writing as against the works of his distinguished relations. This, his first book, shows that numbers are also in his blood; not only did John Buchan write The Thirty-Nine Steps, but among his other novels are The Three Hostages and The House of the Four Winds.

Edition details

• Publisher: Michael O'Mara
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1843173557
• ISBN 13: 9781843173557
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176