Is Math Real?
Eugenia Cheng
Basic Books, $30
Mathematics is treated with both reverence and fear: People often see math as an objective, apolitical tool that can buttress or refute arguments, but they also feel intimidated and anxious when they think they might have to use it.
Mathematician Eugenia Cheng has spent much of her career working to alleviate those anxieties. As scientist in residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she teaches mathematics to artists, many of whom have never seen themselves as “math people.” She has also written several books, for both adults and children, that seek to cultivate mathematical curiosity and illustrate some of the ways mathematical thinking can enrich our lives. Her latest, Is Math Real?: How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths, demonstrates the ways that seemingly naïve questions can unlock fascinating journeys to understanding math for math’s sake, rather than purely in service of real-world applications.
Math has a reputation for supplying concise, black-or-white answers to questions. Getting straightforward math questions right or wrong is often presented as the litmus test of whether someone has mathematical ability. But that view of math is simplistic, Cheng explains. Rather than a tool for obtaining objective right answers, math is a method for asking questions and exploring the possibilities those questions raise.
2023-10-16 08:00:00
Source from www.sciencenews.org