[BOOK REVIEW] 50 Maths Ideas You Really Need to Know

Why would you ever want to read a book with the title "50 Maths Ideas You Really Need to Know" if your interest for math was extinguished already in high school due to poor poor teaching methods and unenthusiastic teachers? For as long as I can remember math has been associated with stress, dread, negative emotions and resistance.

With clarity and great enthusiasm Tony Crilly, professor in Mathematics at Middlesex University, explains the development of 50 different mathematical areas. And, lo and behold, it never gets boring.

There are plenty of reasons to read this book. Mathematics is one of the few fields that is liberated from interpretations, feelings and opinions, while it at the same time concerns us all. To ponder on mathematical problems increases the ability to analyze, abstract thinking and solving problems. You can also read the book simply to satisfy your curiosity, or to deepen and improve your general knowledge. Every single chapter in the book is actually a reason to read it.

The book has no clear target audience, and can be read by almost anyone regardless of previous experience and attitude toward math. It can be used both as a reference book and light reading. The different chapters are no more than summaries, but the essential elements and fundamentals for understanding are there. Some parts may require rereading and some reflection before insights and 'aha moments' can set in.

Tony Crilly is undeniably a professor who is passionate about his subject. He takes his readers by the hand and steer them gently through the history of mathematics from the Stone Age to the present, as he describes, draws, shows and explains. For each new chapter a timeline of important dates and people is presented. The sections can be read consecutively or independently; there are internal references to relevant pieces both forward and backward in the book, and there is both a dictionary and register in the end.

Those that will be most rewarded by the book are perhaps those readers who are a bit "scared" of math, those who think that they don't understand and can't learn. But not even the most diehard math geeks know all the anecdotes, curiosities and historical details that Crilly offers. His exemplary teaching and the ability to visualize, is probably also of great benefit and inspiration for many teachers, no matter what they teach. In short, it's one of the best popular science books I've read in a long time.