This book contains brainteasers, tricks, puzzles, facts (with some histories), proofs to some theorems, nerd jokes (which the author collectively calls 'curiosities') and I LIKE IT! I've always like books like this because they're easy and light to read. Wala kang kailangan pag-isipan (well, except for the puzzles, of course). And nerd jokes? C'mon, who doesn't like nerd jokes? They're funny because they're 'nerdy'. I mean, imagine a nerd cracking a joke, it's just... weird. And funny. If you're like me and enjoy those kinds of things, then you'll also like this book.
When I said the contents were in random order, they really were. I skipped some of the pages in order to get to those topics that would interest me. I may have skipped most of the puzzles, me thinks. My brain was not working at the time, and no calculator was within reach (right...). There are errors, though, but they're okay (for me). And if you want more info on the contents, Ian Stewart provided additional resources, with some being sketchy. I'm looking at you, Wikipedia.
If you were born curious then Mr. Stewart's book is right for you. This book definitely grabbed my curiosity and I like it. With that, I'll finish my short review with a joke (with emphasis on the word joke) from the book.
A biologist, a statistician and a mathematician are sitting outside a cafe watching the world go by. A man and a woman enter a building across the road. Ten minutes later, they come out accompanied by a child. ‘They’ve reproduced,’ says the biologist. ‘No,’ says the statistician. ‘It’s an observational error. On average, two and a half people went each way.’ ‘No, no, no,’ says the mathematician. ‘It’s perfectly obvious. If someone goes in now, the building will be empty.’
Wut.
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