Marcus Du Sautoy – Thinking Better book review

In a nutshell (336 pages), this book is all about the shortcuts one can take in life through mathematics. Du Sautoy is a big fan of mathematician Gauss but uses examples throughout history to show how smart math can help improve lives. Examples range from parlour tricks to advancing physics or engineering and understanding the world better.

What I got out of it

The stories and examples throughout this book are fascinating explanations of historical moments like when we learned the world is round and how we learned it. The real story of the apple falling on Newton's head and the real application of his experiments with falling apples as well as how that knowledge is used to this day.

What was difficult

My ability to do math ends at arithmetic so most of the very few formulas used meant little or nothing to me, luckily Du Sautoy is a good writer and you can still appreciate the general principle even if you can’t necessarily use it yourself.

Recommendation

If you ever wondered while in school “why are we learning this”, then this book answers you. The author does a great job of telling the story of mathematical uses that just about anybody will appreciate. Many of the stories are very impressive, even if not clearly practical to you.