How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780465097678)

One of the world's most creative mathematicians finds the meaning of mathematics in the kitchen in this "whimsical...rigorous and insightful" (New York Times) book

What is math? How exactly does it work? And what do three siblings trying to share a cake have to do with it? In How to Bake Pi, math professor Eugenia Cheng provides an accessible introduction to the logic and beauty of mathematics, powered, unexpectedly, by insights from the kitchen. We learn how the bechamel in a lasagna can be a lot like the number five, and why making a good custard proves that math is easy but life is hard. At the heart of it all is Cheng's work on category theory, a cutting-edge "mathematics of mathematics," that is about figuring out how math works.

Combined with her infectious enthusiasm for cooking and true zest for life, Cheng's perspective on math is a funny journey through a vast territory no popular book on math has explored before. So, what is math? Let's look for the answer in the kitchen.

Author: Eugenia Cheng
ISBN-10: 0465097677
ISBN-13: 9780465097678
Publisher: Basic Books
Language: English
Published: 05/10/2016
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.90d