Book Review # 1_Ong

 Life by the Numbers 

by Keith J. Devlin

Why do leopards grow spots when tigers grow stripes? Is the universe round, square, or some other shape? How do the dimples in a golf ball give it greater lift? Is there such a thing as a public mood? If so, how can we accurately take its pulse?These are just a few questions about life that is unexpectedly related to mathematics and numbers.

Life by the Numbers is an awesome book about how math plays a big role in our lives.The way the author describes mathematical concepts and how they work was very intersting. I was impressed about the study that went into writing the book and how he was able to apply it to many mathematicians’ ideas.Most people think mathematics is about numbers and counting. That's just the basics, though,this book gives examples of the versatility of math as a tool for understanding just about everything. Math it one of the greatest creations of mankind perceived by Delvinand he wants to everyone to be able to appreciate its beauty.

As the author takes you through this amazing mathematical journey, the reader is enlightened about the role math plays in our lives and one realizes that mathematical principles play themselves out everywhere in our lives. Many of the things in the book have been around for a while but the way Keith Devlin describes them with such detail is fascinating to me.

Without a doubt, if you are interested in learning more about math and its role in everyday life than you will enjoy the book Life by the Numbers. It is a pleasurable read for the young and old if you are interested in mathematics. The book convinces the reader that math is one of the most important tools in our lives. Everything was well illustrated and beautifully written, this book brings exploring math and the invention to life through the stories of some of the most creative practitioners of the art. It shows an appreciation of the ingenuity and the fun of seeing our world through mathematical eyes.

One of the principal messages of Life By The Numbers is that mathematics permeates virtually all of our lives, and that people can be motivated to learn mathematics via things they find interesting, be that special effects in movies and educational films, the miracle of the internet, the history of art, the wonders of cosmology, the pitfalls of gambling, sports analysis, building better boats, map making, flight simulation, national surveys, wearable computers, modelling international economies, DNA, life insurance, playing chess on the surface of a doughnut, or the chances of being attacked by giant locusts!

Only one tool of the human mind has the power and versatility to answer so many questions about our world—mathematics. Far from a musty set of equations and proofs, mathematics is a vital and creative way of thinking and seeing. It is the most powerful means we have of exploring our world and how it works, from the darkest depths of the oceans to the faintest glimmers of far-away galaxies, and from the aerodynamics of figure-skating jumps to the shadows of the fourth dimension.