Math Without Numbers

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

The only numbers in this book are the page numbers.

Math Without Numbers is a vivid and wholly original guide to the three main branches of abstract math - topology, analysis, and algebra - which turn out to be surprisingly easy to grasp. Milo Beckman upends the conventional approach to mathematics, inviting you to think creatively about shape and dimension, the infinite and infinitesimal, symmetries, proofs, and how these concepts all fit together. How many shapes are there? Is anything bigger than infinity? And can mathematics even be described as 'true'?

'With charm, unwavering enthusiasm, and a lot of cartoons, Math Without Numbers waltzes the reader through a garden of higher mathematics' Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong

© Milo Beckman 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Critics Review

  • So delightful! Mathematics is playful, surprising, and enchanting, but those qualities are often obscured behind intimidating equations and formalism. Milo Beckman brings them out into the open for everyone to share.

    Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden
  • A playful paean to the pleasures of studying higher math … readers with an abundance of curiosity and the time to puzzle over Beckman’s many examples, riddles, and questions, will make many fascinating discoveries.

    Publishers Weekly
  • A pleasant, amusing look at mathematics as a description of everything.

    Kirkus
  • With charm, unwavering enthusiasm, and a lot of cartoons, Math Without Numbers waltzes the reader through a garden of higher mathematics

    Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not To Be Wrong
  • Math Without Numbers explores deep mathematical topics-and shows how mathematicians think-in completely readable prose. The puzzles and games are bonuses. Very enjoyable

    The New York Times
  • The book’s accessible language and illustrations makes understanding some of the most complex (and possibly most intimidating) math concepts feel as effortless as breathing. Beckman’s approachable writing and Erazo’s delightful illustration combine to tell an insightful and entertaining story about math

    Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec, co-authors of Dear Data

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