Nature's Numbers: The Unreal Reality of Mathematics (Science Masters Series) 1st Edition

by Ian Stewart (Author)

17 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0465072736

ISBN-10: 0465072739

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Stating that the mental construct of mathematics can provide humankind with a key tool to understanding the world in which we live, the author of Does God Play Dice? covers basic math concepts and their implications.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Defining mathematics as a system of thought for recognizing and exploiting patterns, Scientific American math columnist Stewart takes readers on an exciting, lucid voyage of discovery as he investigates patterns of form, number, shape and movement in the world around us. His examples range from water dripping slowly from a tap to the symmetries of molecules, viruses and galaxies and from a snail's spiral shell to biological evolution and the dynamics of solar systems. Making forays into the history of mathematics and the role of mathematics in human culture, Stewart gives the reader an uncanny feel for the way mathematicians think and provides a succinct yet remarkably broad overview extending from the invention of numbers to unsolved problems that bedevil contemporary mathematicians and cosmologists. His elegant narrative concludes with a look at today's emerging sciences of chaos and complexity, which reveal that nature's seeming anarchy is bound by rules. Both novices and advanced students will find this an enlightening and rewarding exploration. QPBC triple main selection, Library of Science dual main selection, BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

Publisher : BasicBooks; 1st edition (July 14, 1995)
Language: : English
Hardcover : 176 pages
ISBN-10 : 0465072739
ISBN-13 : 978-0465072736
Item Weight : 7.7 ounces
Dimensions : 6.25 x 0.75 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,860,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,238 in Mathematics History
- #17,751 in Mathematics (Books)

Customer Reviews:
17 ratings

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luigi

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2018

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Interesting reading material for music and math enthusiasts.

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John Merritt

fascinating look at the relationship of math to our world

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 1999

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Mr. Stewart delivers an excellent insight into the role mathematics plays in the everyday world. Ever easy to understand, the author takes us on an exciting journey into the role math takes on in the places we may least expect. A truly enjoyable read for the non-mathematical and a must for the serious or amateur mathematician. Riveting from the onset, this book keeps your attention and wraps up in a climatic section on chaos theory with some remarkable insights in the epilogue.

6 people found this helpful

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C. Robinson

mesmerized

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2013

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I love this book. It is soooo interesting. O.K. I AM an intellectual nerd. And this is the perfect book for an intelligent person who is interested in reading something that can be interesting. Only my Scientific American is as interesting as this book!

2 people found this helpful

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Cassiopeia

Ian Stewart is a genius.

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2015

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Best Book Evah!

One person found this helpful

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Joel Brown

A mathematician with his head on straight

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2001

Nature's Numbers is a valuable resource and, I think, a new doorway of scientific philosophy. (I think some reviewers didn't like this because they expected more, but as I said, its a doorway to a field, and by no means a complete study in itself) From the very beginning, it is promised to the reader that a new pair of glasses, a mathematicians, will be provided to look at your life in the universe a bit differently. Ian Stewart attempts to grasp the mathematical hypostasis of the natural macrocosm. Objectively, simplicity still likely underlies all external phenomena, however a outward branching tree of complexity translates this core into our manifested world, appearing fairly simple again as the laws which govern the cosmos. However, in Stewart's universe, mere laws and equations do not suffice. He strives for a new field of mathematics that is intertwined with natural science. It is obvious, as he shows from the science of flowers, dripping water, etc., that math determines the observed phenomena of science. Even in apparently haphazard systems, the source remains as deterministic principles by nonlinear dynamics. (This is what you should know as chaos theory) And the shibboleth of "the butterfly effect" is an epitome of the need to comprehend the governing mathematics of systems. Take biological adaption and evolution for example. Some biologists believe that DNA and genetics is the sole shaper of organisms. This does not appear to be fully adequate alone, because then we would in turn need to explain why biology followed symmetries and patterns. But as he notes on pp. 137 "Maybe evolution started with the mathematical patterns that occurred naturally, and fine-tuned them by natural selection." By opening our horizons of our attempts to comprehend the universe fully in our quest for absolute knowledge of nature's numbers, the final sentence in Stewarts work admirably states the scientist's philosophy with the same type of mere simplicity that Mother Nature holds at her core, "We may never get there. But it will be fun trying." Gotta love that.

19 people found this helpful

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Albert Swanson

Quantity vs. Quality

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2003

Nature�s Numbers is an oddity in that it is a serious overview of mathematics that contains no serious mathematics�at least in the traditional formalized sense, in spite of the title�s play on �natural numbers�. There seem to be two reasons for this. The first is that Ian Stewart�s presumed audience is a non-technical one. In this regard, I would like to point out that it is always a tough editorial decision how much to dilute a book�s subject matter for an undefined readership. The impossible trick is to neither condescend to the readers nor to lose them as their metaphorical eyes grow translucent coverings. So, no demerits here: It�s a bit unfair for armchair critics to take potshots from any easy ambush position.
Secondly, Stewart is genuinely interested in, and purposely pursues a mathematics that is about qualities rather than quantities. However, we do not learn of Stewart�s intent in the main body of the text. �Morphomatics� is discussed in the epilogue, but it is more fully explicated in Stewart�s next opus, Life�s Other Secret: The New Mathematics of the Living World. Indeed, as it covers most of the same material but without development, Nature�s Numbers seems to be a kind of long-form abstract for Life�s Other Secret.
Thus, it is a valid question why a reader would go for Nature�s Numbers, when Life�s Other Secret says the same things and more (plus, in the discussion of �oscillators�, the debate is more up-to-date). So, in this review I am compelled to dock Stewart a star. This pains me, however, as I feel strongly that Stewart�s un-stereotypical writing style and sense of story should be broadly encouraged. Probably the culprit here is the publisher, as some other books in the (Science Masters) series suffer from the same �abstract-y� problem.
Still, if you have no knowledge of what mathematics is all about in the real world and you thought you didn�t care, Nature�s Numbers could be the book for you.

7 people found this helpful

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depchief3

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2015

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Ian Stewart showed me a whole new way to look at mathematics. He used examples for everything he discussed to make this an easy read for any reader. The idea of this "Morphomatics" was so intriguing. This was his idea to use bits and pieces of dynamical systems,chaos, symmetry breaking and others to better understand Nature's numbers, shapes, behaviors, and more. Stewart leaves you interested in more, stating math is needed for most things and is pretty much a must for things to exist, and is part of the everyday aspect of life since the beginning. I would recommend this book for all math lovers and math haters, it is just a good fun read.

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