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Popular mathematics, history and puzzles

Mathematics and Statistics

Books that explain mathematics to general readers, tell its history and the lives of mathematicians, and set puzzles and problems.

47 books on Popular mathematics, history and puzzles, 3 of them tier 1, recommended by 28 people including Patrick Collison and Mohnish Pabrai.

47 books · 28 experts

Start here

  1. On Growth and FormD'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, 1917
  2. Godel, Escher, BachDouglas R. Hofstadter, 1979
  3. ScaleGeoffrey West, 2017
  4. CyberneticsNorbert Wiener, 1948
  5. Infinite PowersSteven Strogatz, 2019

The best books on Popular mathematics, history and puzzles 47

On Growth and FormOn Growth and Form
T1 On Growth and Form
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson · 1917
Open Library
Godel, Escher, BachGodel, Escher, Bach
T1 Godel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter · 1979
Self-reference and strange loops across mathematics, art and music
Open Library
Recommended byNat EliasonNaval RavikantDemis HassabisKevin KellySahil LavingiaSteve Jurvetson
ScaleScale
T1 Scale
Geoffrey West · 2017
Open Library
Recommended byNat EliasonBill MillerMarc BenioffStewart BrandVinod Khosla
CyberneticsCybernetics
T2 Cybernetics
Norbert Wiener · 1948
Open Library
Infinite PowersInfinite Powers
T2 Infinite Powers
Steven Strogatz · 2019
Calculus explained as the mathematics of change
Open Library
Recommended byMichael MauboussinNaval Ravikant
The Formula: The Universal Laws of SuccessThe Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
T3 The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi · 2018
Network science on how success and reputation compound unequally
Open Library
Recommended byNassim Nicholas TalebVinod Khosla
Introduction to Mathematical PhilosophyIntroduction to Mathematical Philosophy
T4 Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy
Bertrand Russell · 1920
Open Library
Recommended byVlad Zamfir
A Mathematician's ApologyA Mathematician's Apology
T4 A Mathematician's Apology
G. H. Hardy · 1940
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick CollisonPaul Graham
Mathematician's DelightMathematician's Delight
T4 Mathematician's Delight
W.W. Sawyer · 1943
Open Library
Recommended byPaul Graham
SymmetrySymmetry
T4 Symmetry
Hermann Weyl · 1952
Open Library
Recommended byEric Weinstein
NumberNumber
T4 Number
Tobias Dantzig · 1954
Open Library
Recommended byBryan Johnson
Carl Friedrich GaussCarl Friedrich Gauss
T4 Carl Friedrich Gauss
Guy Waldo Dunnington · 1955
Open Library
Recommended byPaul Graham
The Mathematical Experience: Study EditionThe Mathematical Experience: Study Edition
T4 The Mathematical Experience: Study Edition
Philip J. Davis, Reuben Hersh, Elena Anne Marchisotto · 1980
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
I Think, Therefore I LaughI Think, Therefore I Laugh
T4 I Think, Therefore I Laugh
John Allen Paulos · 1985
Analytic philosophy and logic presented through humour
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiNassim Nicholas Taleb
Metamagical ThemasMetamagical Themas
T4 Metamagical Themas
Douglas Hofstadter · 1985
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
ChaosChaos
T4 Chaos
James Gleick · 1987
Open Library
“James Gleick's account of complexity and nonlinear dynamics tracks the same intellectual moment Brand was living through in the 1980s, when the Santa Fe Institute crowd began seeing order and turbulence as two sides of the same phenomenon. Gleick writes the history of ideas the way Brand curates them: sideways, through the people.”Stewart Brand
Recommended byNaval RavikantStewart Brand
The Man Who Knew InfinityThe Man Who Knew Infinity
T4 The Man Who Knew Infinity
Robert Kanigel · 1991
Open Library
“Robert Kanigel's biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the self-taught Indian mathematician who produced theorems of extraordinary depth with almost no formal training. Collison has pointed to Ramanujan as an example of how intellectual talent can emerge in the most improbable circumstances when the right opening appears.”Patrick Collison
Recommended byPatrick CollisonPaul GrahamSophie Bakalar
Fuzzy ThinkingFuzzy Thinking
T4 Fuzzy Thinking
Bart Kosko · 1993
Open Library
Recommended byEv Williams
e: The Story of a Number
T4 e: The Story of a Number
Eli Maor · 1994
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve theFermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem
T4 Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem
Simon Singh · 1997
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiChamath Palihapitiya
The Book of NothingThe Book of Nothing
T4 The Book of Nothing
John D. Barrow · 2000
Open Library
Recommended byNaval Ravikant
Where Mathematics Comes FromWhere Mathematics Comes From
T4 Where Mathematics Comes From
George Lakoff, Rafael Núñez · 2000
Open Library
Recommended byBret Victor
ZeroZero
T4 Zero
Charles Seife · 2000
Open Library
Recommended byMatt MullenwegBryan Johnson
A New Kind of ScienceA New Kind of Science
T4 A New Kind of Science
Stephen Wolfram · 2002
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiSteve Jurvetson
Linked: How Everything Is Connected to EveryLinked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means
T4 Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi · 2002
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the GrPrime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics
T4 Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics
John Derbyshire · 2003
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
IncompletenessIncompleteness
T4 Incompleteness
Rebecca Goldstein · 2005
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
The Pea and the Sun: A Mathematical ParadoxThe Pea and the Sun: A Mathematical Paradox
T4 The Pea and the Sun: A Mathematical Paradox
Leonard M. Wapner · 2005
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Unknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary HistoUnknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra
T4 Unknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra
John Derbyshire · 2006
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Math, Better ExplainedMath, Better Explained
T4 Math, Better Explained
Kalid Azad · 2013
Open Library
Recommended byNaval Ravikant
A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math andA Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even if you Flunked Algebra
T4 A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even if you Flunked Algebra
Barbara Oakley · 2014
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
How Not to Be WrongHow Not to Be Wrong
T4 How Not to Be Wrong
Jordan Ellenberg · 2014
Open Library
Recommended byBill GatesKeith RaboisNick Ganju
InfinitesimalInfinitesimal
T4 Infinitesimal
Amir Alexander · 2014
Open Library
Recommended bySophie Bakalar
Our Mathematical UniverseOur Mathematical Universe
T4 Our Mathematical Universe
Max Tegmark · 2014
Open Library
Recommended byMark Cuban
New Horizons in GeometryNew Horizons in Geometry
T4 New Horizons in Geometry
Mamikon A. Mnatsakanian, Tom M. Apostol · 2018
Open Library
Recommended byBret Victor
When Einstein Walked with GödelWhen Einstein Walked with Gödel
T4 When Einstein Walked with Gödel
Jim Holt · 2018
Open Library
Recommended byBryan Johnson
Engines of Logic: Mathematicians and the OriEngines of Logic: Mathematicians and the Origin of the Computer
T4 Engines of Logic: Mathematicians and the Origin of the Computer
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
How to Solve It: A New Aspect of MathematicaHow to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method
T4 How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Logic & Design in Art, Science, and Mathemat
T4 Logic & Design in Art, Science, and Mathematics
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Logic and DesignLogic and Design
T4 Logic and Design
Krome Barratt
unverified
Recommended byBret Victor
Mathematics and Plausible ReasoningMathematics and Plausible Reasoning
T4 Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles (DoveMy Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles (Dover Recreational Math)
T4 My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles (Dover Recreational Math)
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
The Annotated Flatland
T4 The Annotated Flatland
Ian Stewart
unverified
Recommended byBryan Johnson
The Art and Craft of Problem Solving 1st Edi
T4 The Art and Craft of Problem Solving 1st Edition
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
The Chicken from Minsk: And 99 Other InfuriaThe Chicken from Minsk: And 99 Other Infuriatingly Challenging Brain Teasers from the Great Russian Tradition of Math and Science
T4 The Chicken from Minsk: And 99 Other Infuriatingly Challenging Brain Teasers from the Great Russian Tradition of Math and Science
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathe
T4 The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics
Jakow Trachtenberg
unverified
Recommended byPaul Graham
World of Numbers
T4 World of Numbers
Adam Spencer
unverified
Recommended byCatriona Wallace

Experts 28

The people who wrote this page's books, and the people who recommend them.

Recommenders 28

Patrick Collisonrecommends 15 books here
MP
Mohnish Pabrairecommends 6 books herePaul Grahamrecommends 5 books hereNaval Ravikantrecommends 5 books hereBryan Johnsonrecommends 4 books hereBret Victorrecommends 3 books hereNassim Nicholas Talebrecommends 2 books here
NE
Nat Eliasonrecommends 2 books here
SB
Sophie Bakalarrecommends 2 books hereSteve Jurvetsonrecommends 2 books hereStewart Brandrecommends 2 books hereVinod Khoslarecommends 2 books here
Show all 28
MM
Michael Mauboussinrecommends 1 book here
BM
Bill Millerrecommends 1 book here
KK
Kevin Kellyrecommends 1 book hereMarc Benioffrecommends 1 book hereBill Gatesrecommends 1 book here
CW
Catriona Wallacerecommends 1 book hereChamath Palihapitiyarecommends 1 book hereDemis Hassabisrecommends 1 book hereEric Weinsteinrecommends 1 book hereEv Williamsrecommends 1 book hereKeith Raboisrecommends 1 book hereMark Cubanrecommends 1 book hereMatt Mullenwegrecommends 1 book here
NG
Nick Ganjurecommends 1 book here
SL
Sahil Lavingiarecommends 1 book here
VZ
Vlad Zamfirrecommends 1 book here
See all 28 in the Experts tab →

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