Product Description

It's hard to imagine a world without numbers in this day and age, when our whole life is centred around commerce and money, and it is the only language that is the same the world over. However, did you know that for a long period of time people could not get their heads around the idea of zero, a figure representing nothing, and that it was even regarded as heretical in some circles? "Easy as Pi" is an entertaining and accessible guide, written for those who love numbers - and those who don't - and uncovers a great deal of lore and intriguing information, including: snippets of fascinating numerical facts; myths and mysticism in the world of numbers; numbers in language and used as slang; pop-culture trivia; and, useful mathematical rules to remember (and some that it would be easier to forget). Taking a quirky and insightful look at the world of numbers, "Easy as Pi" will delight and entertain any number enthusiast.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1521 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

The Number of The Beast!
My maths knowledge is not great - in fact ratios bring me out in a cold sweat!
But this book really is interesting........not boring sums and stuff this really does make numbers fun!
As an example - 7 - why is the number 7 everywhere........7 Deadly Sins, 7 Heavenly Virtues, 7 Wonders of The World - this book will tell you!
Also 666 the number of the beast - can you believe there was a highway in the USA numbered 666 - its now the 491!
Well worth a look.

An entertaining look at numbers!
Having always been a bit of a maths geek and after reading other books in this series I thought that this one was worth a look too. It includes all kinds of entertaining trivia on numbers, from uses in TV programmes (the fake telephone number section is funny) to the role of numbers in religion. I found it quite educational and my parents also really liked it.

Not so easy
There are many better maths related books than this out there, indeed the "author" cites quite a few of them (Why do buses always come in threes etc) and it has to be said that the layout and design is a bit haphazard. When discussing the significance of certain numbers he doesn't mention 69 for instance (eh?) and this just comes across as another attempt at cashing in on the increased interest in things mathematic (at a certain level)
Sure I learned a couple of new things here but there are websites that cover a lot of this stuff a lot better and obviously a lot cheaper.