Poundcake - Shop now
Buy used:
$17.49
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery August 13 - 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, August 13
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Corax Books
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Minimal signs of wear. Ships direct from Amazon!

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Matt Parker
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors Hardcover – January 1, 2019

by Matt Parker (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 4,667 ratings
Matt Parker, the brilliant stand-up mathematician, shows us what happens when maths goes wrong in the real world

We would all be better off if everyone saw mathematics as a practical ally. Sadly, most of us fear maths and seek to avoid it. This is because mathematics doesn't have good 'people skills' - it never hesitates to bluntly point out when we are wrong. But it is only trying to help! Mathematics is a friend which can fill the gaps in what our brains can do naturally.

Luckily, even though we don't like sharing our own mistakes, we love to read about what happens when maths errors make the everyday go horribly wrong. Matt Parker explores and explains near misses and mishaps with planes, bridges, the internet and big data as a way of showing us not only how important maths is, but how we can use it to our advantage. This comedy of errors is a brilliantly told series of disaster stories with a happy ending.
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Allen Lane
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    6.38 x 1.26 x 9.45 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0241360234
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0241360231
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

From the Publisher

Humble Pi by Matt Parker
Humble Pi cover

What happens when maths goes wrong in the real world?

Most of the time maths works quietly behind the scenes, until ... it doesn't. Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near-misses and mishaps, Matt Parker shows us the bizarre ways maths trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world.

'A fascinating and deeply surprising journey into the hilarious and sometimes tragic realms of mathematical error. Brilliant' Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist and Messy

'If you have waltzed through life without ever considering the daily consequences of fixed-length binary numbers, dividing by zero or rounding errors, strap in and prepare to be both horrified and fascinated' Helen Czerski, author of Storm in a Teacup

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen Lane
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0241360234
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241360231
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.22 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.38 x 1.26 x 9.45 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #660,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 4,667 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Matt Parker

Matt Parker

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Matt Parker is a stand-up comedian and a YouTuber with over one hundred million views. He is the author of the international bestseller Humble Pi and Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension. Matt is also frequently seen, heard, and read on the Science Channel, on BBC radio, and in The Guardian, in that order. He has previously held world records for both the Rubik’s Cube and Space Invaders. In the pursuit of math, Matt has: flipped a coin 10,000 times, traveled to Antarctica, memorized π to hundreds of digits, and been bitten by a bullet ant in the Amazon rainforest. Matt has given math lectures at Cambridge University, Oxford University, Harvard University, and Lake Monger Primary School.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4,667 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book entertaining and informative, with fascinating stories that delve deeply into mathematics. The writing style is accessible, making it easy to read, and customers appreciate the humor throughout the book.

Select to learn more

EnjoymentInformation qualityHumorLanguageStory quality
33 customers mention "Enjoyment"33 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and informative, with one customer noting it serves as a readable lesson in mathematics.

"...I can't recommend this book enough - it's great read." Read more

"...Mathematics, or "Maths" as the English say, could be so funny and entertaining!..." Read more

"This is an enjoyable book...." Read more

"great book with good humor" Read more

26 customers mention "Information quality"26 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and entertaining, with multiple reviews highlighting its fascinating content on various topics and its appeal to math majors. One customer particularly appreciates the collection of examples with explanations, while another notes how it delves deeply into mathematical concepts.

"Thoroughly enjoyable. Well written and informative whilst also being entertaining and light enough to dip in and out of. Highly recommended." Read more

"Not only interesting, but also hilarious. Excellent combination of science and humour." Read more

"...is a delight, and an inspiration when it comes to making math(s) more fascinating, amusing, and just good ol' fun...." Read more

"This was a highly entertaining and engaging read. It's accessible to non-mathematicians but still delves quite deeply into the mathematics behind..." Read more

17 customers mention "Humor"17 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor, with one mentioning it's a healthy mix of mathematics and wit, while another notes its lighthearted approach.

"Read the book. Well written and funny. It had me grinning and snorting suspiciously and longing back to my reverse Polish notation HP calculator." Read more

"Hilarious - but let down by the illustrations..." Read more

"...The author has a wry sense of humour very much in the vein of English medical doctor and author Ben Goldacre..." Read more

"This book merged a healthy dose of mathematics and humour which results in a very readable lesson in mathematics and several valuable case studies...." Read more

8 customers mention "Language"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the language of the book, with one noting it is easy to consume and another mentioning it is accessible for any level reader.

"...Great fun. Well written. Worth the short wait for delivery from the U.K. You'll enjoy it!!" Read more

"...It is written in an accessible language, so anyone can in theory find value in reading it...." Read more

"...the implications of mathematical errors very funny and accessible for any level reader in this casual comedy." Read more

"Very easy and interesting read. Covers many more topics then Royal Institute video...." Read more

7 customers mention "Story quality"7 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the stories in the book, finding them fascinating.

"...Bought it for a math guy but I even read it (English guy). Fascinating stories like you find on those shows on Discover and those neat shows...." Read more

"A really enjoyable book with some very interesting and surprising events." Read more

"Interesting facts. Some mind blowing facts as a matter of fact. Information that one does not usually ponder." Read more

"My nerdy friends and I loved this book. Great stories." Read more

Absorbing accounts of amazing math errors
5 out of 5 stars
Absorbing accounts of amazing math errors
Matt Parker does an excellent job of entertaining AND informing us of how many ways numerical calculations can go wrong. The book is very enjoyable to read, particularly if you have any programming experience, because you will easily appreciate how little programming errors become big operating errors, sometimes even becoming matters of life and death.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Stephen Scott
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully delightful. I also recommend the audiobook, read by the author!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Matt Parker is a delight, and an inspiration when it comes to making math(s) more fascinating, amusing, and just good ol' fun. I had only heard of a couple stories related here. While a fair amount of attention has been given to some math(s) errors that were catastrophic and resulted in loss of life, etc., Matt did well to keep this book on the lighter, less morbid side.
    I absolutely love much of his YouTube presence and in-person performances, and am glad to buy both the hard cover and the audio book. Wonderfully delightful.
    The print version is also nice in that reading the numbers with your eyes is far quicker than to listen to someone read off a string of numbers lol
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Phil Stewartq
    5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining romp through the history of mathematical disasters
    Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This was a highly entertaining and engaging read. It's accessible to non-mathematicians but still delves quite deeply into the mathematics behind many everyday activities - be it walking across a bridge, flying in an airliner or watching a game show. The author has a wry sense of humour very much in the vein of English medical doctor and author Ben Goldacre (who is actually referenced in the section about the way pharmaceutical companies game the system with research results). I can't recommend this book enough - it's great read.
    4 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Nikolay Yakimov
    4.0 out of 5 stars A great book about how math we rely on can go wrong
    Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The book is a rather comprehensive enumeration of examples where bad (or just not good enough) math can lead to surprising, or even disastrous results. It is written in an accessible language, so anyone can in theory find value in reading it. Admittedly, it has less to offer to hardcore math nerds who are already aware of many of the examples presented, but that deficiency is somewhat compensated for by the author's wit. One relatively major nitpick I have is that for a book subtitled "comedy of math errors", there is a depressing number of stories that end with "and then people died". People dying is not funny, and the book doesn't try to present it as such, but for someone looking for a cheap chuckle that may be a turn-off. I guess in this case we have to assume the author used "comedy" in a Greco-Roman sense, as how Dante's Inferno is a "comedy". Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of chuckle-worthy content here, but there's quite a bit of frankly depressing stuff too.
    27 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Whitekn3
    5.0 out of 5 stars I bought it for fun. It proved to be valuable!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    An excellent book about the problems, some real disasters, that can occur when people make "math mistakes", sometimes on purpose.

    I had heard several of the stories before, and was familiar with some of the problems. But the section on spotting "fake data" was new to me. Shortly after finishing the book I ran across several totally unrelated about news stories about researchers who had faked data. Including a shocking article by a Medical doctor who explained why he would not take a recommended article because the "raw data" that is essential to determining the reliability of the studies on it's side effects was not available. I could follow his reasoning because of what I learned in the Humble PI book. Since then I've had several other occasions where the information in the book proved valuable.

    Our world is complex, with lots of room for errors, and fraudsters. I think this book is more than just "interesting". I found it a tool to help me sort through all the "data" that is thrown around nothing but hot air to back it up.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • hayden conmee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and informative
    Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This book merged a healthy dose of mathematics and humour which results in a very readable lesson in mathematics and several valuable case studies. A good book for those who use mathematics professionally, for fun or both!
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • David R. Bosshard
    5.0 out of 5 stars Math Geeks, Unite!!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This was a great read - my wife sat and just rolled her eyes/shook her head as I would read a few pages and laugh out loud and then try to explain to her what was so funny. If you ARE a math nerd like me, you'll recognize that experience immediately!! Matt Parker's writing style is easy to consume and kept me grinning throughout. He explains how the human brain processes some of the common errors he's come across and I wasn't half-way through the book before I started seeing the errors he talked about in the world around me - YouTube leaps to mind!! Great fun. Well written. Worth the short wait for delivery from the U.K. You'll enjoy it!!
    6 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Richard Middleton
    4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious - but let down by the illustrations
    Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Like most other readers, I got a great deal of enjoyment from this book (and, as a civil engineer, I am well aware of how errors in decimal points or unit conversions, or creative statistics and probabilities, can cause havoc). Unfortunately the 2020 Penguin paperback edition has very small and very indistinct illustrations, which in many cases are virtually illegible. Luckily they are not vital - just reading the book is great fun - but the publishers must have known that they were putting out a somewhat sub-standard version, capitalizing on its best-seller status. Shame!
    7 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • ChadWickR
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. What an interesting book. Not just for Math people I discovered
    Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This book is great. Bought it for a math guy but I even read it (English guy). Fascinating stories like you find on those shows on Discover and those neat shows. Can’t get the story out of my head about the pilot who got sucked out the front window of a plane because the maintenance guy used 87 of the wrong size screws — off by like a quarter millimeter!!
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Dr.hisham
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book
    Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on December 9, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I like it
    Report
  • Cinthia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Divertido e educativo
    Reviewed in Brazil on November 3, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    O livro e divertido de ler, educativo, e tem muita informacao curiosa.
    Report
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Druga twarz matematyki, spoza sali lekcyjnej
    Reviewed in Poland on September 30, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    "Pi razy oko" to książka, która w przystępny sposób wprowadza czytelnika w świat matematyki, ukazując jej praktyczne zastosowania w codziennym życiu, co czyni ją doskonałą lekturą dla młodzieży. Autor, używając lekkiego i pełnego humoru języka, sprawia, że nawet złożone zagadnienia stają się zrozumiałe i ciekawe. Książka pełna jest fascynujących anegdot i przykładów, które pomagają zrozumieć, jak matematyka wpływa na nasze otoczenie. Dla młodych czytelników to świetna okazja, aby odkryć, że matematyka ma realne zastosowanie w ich codziennych doświadczeniach. "Pi razy oko" to lektura, która uczy, bawi i inspiruje do dalszego zgłębiania matematyki w praktyce.
    Report
  • Meritxell Lopez Santamaria
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bien
    Reviewed in Spain on June 20, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Llego rápido, más cómodo que ir a la librería
    Report
  • Henry
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best maths book I've ever read
    Reviewed in Australia on January 3, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Fun and enjoyable read, teaches you maths concepts while showing you how stuff went wrong. Very highly recommended.
    Report