DENZELLE DEL PUERTO - Mathematics of Life

Mathematics of Life (A book review by Denzelle Freya Del Puerto)

            The book’s author is Ian Stewart. The book is all about the many contributions of mathematics on unlocking ancient mysteries of the world which many biologists of the past have long dismissed mathematics as incapable to meaningfully contribute to our understanding of the world and ourselves. It is a wonderful and engaging introduction to the role of mathematics in life sciences, from cellular organization to the behaviour and evolution of entire organisms.

            Stewart uses analogies. One of my favourite analogies he made was in The Lizard Games. In the chapter, he talks in depth about the mating strategies of the side-blotched lizard. There are three different types of male lizard: fighters can defeat pair-bonders, pair-bonders can defeat sneakers, and sneakers can slip past fighters. This is sort of an oversimplification of the system, but you can see how it is analogous to the game rock-paper-scissors. He explains that if Alice and Bob play rock-paper-scissors over and over, if Bob always plays rock, Alice can figure out how to beat him. Therefore, both players should play all three strategies in roughly equal frequency.

            Truth be told, I first thought this book is another stiff paperback on mathematics, where mathematical terms and expressions and jokes are to be conveyed to readers. But, upon reading the first chapters of the book, it is not all about mathematics but it is about life, the science of life with mathematical schemes and explanations. This book offers a much wider scope of the benefits humans have in life because of mathematics.

 Stewart covers a lot of ground, but he is such a good communicator, it does not cause information overload. Stewart puts the concepts in modern contexts thus more understandable. He has good illustrations, too.

            In The Mathematics of Life, Ian Stewart provides a fascinating overview of the vital but little-recognized role mathematics has played in pulling back the curtain on the hidden complexities of the natural world. Thumbs up to the author of the book!