E-Book Overview
Math. What is math? ; Abstraction ; Principles ; Process ; Generalization ; Internal vs. external ; Axiomatization ; What mathematics is -- Category theory. What is category theory? ; Context ; Relationships ; Structure ; Sameness ; Universal properties ; What category theory is.;A math expert uses cooking to shed light on the heart of mathematics.
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DUE: 2/12 M AT H E M AT I C S know; it will both dazzle the constant reader of popular mathematics and amuse and enlighten even the most hardened math-phobe. So, what is math? Let’s look for the answer E U G E N I A C H E N G is tenured in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. She has previously been on the mathematics faculty at the University of Chicago and is the Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives in Chicago, Illinois. “I never thought I would discover a book about mathematics that’s actually cozy—armchair and scone cozy. Eugenia Cheng has created some delicious associations in my mind that are there to stay: succulent axioms, logical cake, Möbius bagels, and pentagon custard. Off to my oven!” —LEILA SCHNEPS, Professor of Mathematics at the Institut de Mathématiques de Jussieu of Pierre and Marie Curie University and author of Math on Trial “Eugenia Cheng’s charming new book embeds math in a casing of wry, homespun metaphors: math is like vegan brownies, math is like a subway map, math is like a messy desk. Cheng is at home with math the way you’re at home with brownies, maps, and desks, and by the end of How to Bake Pi, you might be, too.” —JORDAN ELLENBERG, Professor of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin–Madison and author of How Not to Be Wrong “With this delightfully surprising book, Eugenia Cheng reveals the hidden beauty of mathematics with passion and simplicity. After reading How to Bake Pi, you won’t look at math (nor porridge!) in the same way ever again.” —RO B E RTO T ROT TA , Astrophysicist, Imperial College London and author of The Edge of the Sky “This book puts the fun back in math, fun that is nearly sucked from it in K-12 education. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone with a casual interest in, or deep love of, logic, or mathematics, or baking.” —M E L I SSA A . W I L SO N SAY R E S , Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences and the Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University “Math is a lot like cooking. Does this seem odd? Maybe in school all you got was stale leftovers! Try something better: Eugenia Cheng is not only an excellent mathematician and pastry chef, but a great writer, too.” —J O H N BA EZ , Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Riverside HOW TO BAKE © RoundTurnerPhotography.com in the kitchen. “What a charming and original book! The central analogy—math is like cooking—turns out to be surprisingly apt and often funny. Light and tasty, yet so, so good for you, How to Bake Pi is a real treat.” —S T E V E N S T RO G AT Z , Professor of Mathematics, Cornell University and author of The Joy of x CHENG Advance P raise for H OW TO BA K E (continued from front flap) H O W TO BAKE A Member of the Perseus Books Group www.basicbooks.com 9 780465 051717 52750 trying to share a cake have to do PDF CG work? And what do three siblings with it? In How to Bake Pi, math professor Eugenia Cheng provides an accessible introduction to the logic and beauty of mathematics, powered, unexpectedly, by insights from the kitchen: we learn, for example, how the béchamel in a lasagna can be custard proves that math is easy but life is hard. Of course, it’s not all about cooking; we’ll also run the New York an