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

Being a mathematics teacher I was used to repetitive Math texbooks, but this book helped me acquire a new and more complete vision of our physical world. It's content has helped me develop much more attractive lessons for my students and to offer very interesting conferences to my colleagues, besides motivating me to go further in the study of such themes.

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... Read Full Review

Pros: Many interesting philosophical observations; lucid language.Cons: Not enough details on the math; not enough pictures / diagrams that would support verbal descriptions of examples from nature; in some cases, insufficient explanation of the ideas (e.g. What is qualitative theory, and how can it be an advance rather than a retreat?).Notable Quotes:"There is much beauty in nature's clues, and we can all recognize it without... Read Full Review

This book is a hint that math can be both fun and useful. Understandable even to the non-mathematical reader, it tells in an entertaining style what mathematics is about and what it is good for. It shows how math helped us understand nature and our world in general, how it was used in mankind's most important inventions and developments; how it threaded through our history and what can we expect in the future. Both enlightening... Read Full Review

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... Read Full Review