Litsy

Strange Wilderness: The Lives of the Great Mathematicians | Amir D Aczel

That feeling when the book you're reading references the next in your stack ...

I don't remember hearing that d'Alembert's birth mother was Mme de Tencin, but if I did it didn't stick with me because who the heck is Claudette de Tencin? I only encountered her earlier this year through her proto-gothic Memoirs of the Count of Comminges -- and my next read, her historical novel “The Siege of Calais.“

In Aczel's story she does not seem pleasant

swynn I should add: Tencin's “seeming unpleasant“ is not about her giving up for adoption an out-of-wedlock child. The unpleasantness comes a few paragraphs down (and not pictured), where Mme. de Tencin wants no contact with the child until she learns that he has become a famous mathematician -- at which point she tries to bring her “son“ into her social orbit. In Aczel's account, d'Alembert himself resented her self-serving interest. With justice say I (edited) 4d

17 likes1 comment

swynn

Strange Wilderness: The Lives of the Great Mathematicians | Amir D Aczel

so-so

(2011) It's a popular history of Western mathematics light on mathematical detail and heavy on biographical anecdotes. Some favorite stories are included: the Cardano-Tartaglia and Newton-Leibniz feuds, Galois's stupid and romantic death at 20, the Bourbaki pranksters and Grothendieck's reclusiveness. But for me the stories were familiar and Aczel's retelling didn't add much. I'd have liked more math, but that's not the kind of book this is.

25 likes

BookMack

The Little Book of Mathematical Principles, Theories & Things | Robert Solomon

pick

A compact, accessible guide to big math ideas. Great for curious minds who want bite-sized insights into the logic behind the numbers. Clever and concise.

Daisey

Math with Bad Drawings: Illuminating the Ideas That Shape Our Reality | Ben Orlin

As I continue to teach more math, I keep trying to read more books about math myself and add a few more to my class library as well. This is my current math related read, and so far I‘m appreciating it.

#TeachersOfLitsy #Nonfiction

tpixie I may have to buy this for my youngest child/daughter. She teaches HS math. (edited) 1mo

Daisey @tpixie I‘m bailing on this one for now. I just don‘t have the motivation to read about math along with regular math class prep right now. I might try it again next summer. 4d

tpixie @Daisey summer may be a better time! Then you aren‘t doubling it up! 🆙 4d

43 likes1 stack add3 comments

bookishbitch

Mental Gymnastics: Recreational Mathematics Puzzles | Dick Hess

Yay! Now I can call myself a gymnast. 😂

BookmarkTavern Going for the gold! 🏅 2mo

AmyG Hahahaha I saw this. I thought the same thing. 2mo

15 likes2 comments

LiseWorks

How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics | Eugenia Cheng

#WDNCW @dabbe I do not care that while baking, I ran out of an important ingredient and so had to run to the store with a stained baking shirt. Probably had flour in my hair. When I bought 10 of that item, I got a look and a comment from the clerk. Yep. I'm not running out of Lard for a while.

dabbe #lardlady #bestbaker L😍VE this! 2mo

lil1inblue 😂 😂 😂 2mo

27 likes2 comments