Coincidences, Chaos, And All That Math Jazz: Making Light Of Weighty Ideas

By starting in the familiar world and using a few simple steps of imagination, Burger and Starbird sneak up on weighty mathematical ideas in familiar mysteries that share two features--they appear inexplicable and they are all explained with great humor and clarity in this book.

"A profusely illustrated, bemusingly unorthodox introduction to math."--"Booklist"
A book for the eternally curious, Coincidences fuses a professor's understanding of the hidden mathematical skeleton of the universe with the sensibility of a stand-up comedian, making life's big questions accessible and compelling. Each chapter opens with a surprising insight--not a mathematic formula, but a common observation. From there, the authors leapfrog over math and anecdote toward profound ideas about nature, art, and music. "Coincidences" is a book for lovers of puzzles and posers of outlandish questions, lapsed math aficionados and the formula-phobic alike. 160 illustrations.