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Monday, May 10, 2010

Review: Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day � Fun Math Blog

Review: Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day � Fun Math Blog

Review: Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day

Reader’s Digest just published “Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day.” One of their PR people asked if I’d review it and, as usual, I agreed. “Easy as Pi” is a book of fun Math trivia. It’s aimed at people who like fun facts and are curious about Math or at least about numbers. Math geeks may or may not like the book. It’s certainly not a text book. Those who like history will more likely enjoy the book as it is rich in backstory.

I have to admit that I’m not good with trivia so most of the facts in the book were new to me. Here are some questions to ponder that are covered:

  • Did you know that there is a block of social security numbers that are never used, just like the 555 US telephone prefix (which is partially unused?)