Six Maths Essentials
- Author
- Terence Tao
- Narrator
- Terence Tao
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 27 October 2026
- Run Time
- 1 hour 42 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
The ‘Mozart of mathematics’ (New York Times) takes us on a tour of the core ideas of mathematical thinking
In Six Maths Essentials, the renowned mathematician Terence Tao shows how mathematics has evolved from counting and geometry into a flexible set of tools for understanding an increasingly complex world. He moves effortlessly from children discovering infinity through play, to the numbers that underpin our online lives; from Johannes Kepler using algebra to price a barrel of wine, to curved geometries that explain why GPS works and planes don’t fly in straight lines on a map. Along the way, dice games, insurance policies and financial crises illuminate probability’s promise—and its limits—while deceptively simple rules give rise to chaos, pattern and life itself.
Playful and wise, this is the best entry point for understanding how mathematics works. Contrary to popular perception, maths, Tao insists, isn’t magic—it's a powerful way of thinking from first principles and modelling the world that anyone can learn.
© Terence Tao 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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Details
- Author
- Terence Tao
- Narrator
- Terence Tao
- Duration
- 1 hour 42 minutes
- Release Date
- 27 October 2026
- ISBN
- 9781837315642
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Popular and recreational mathematics, Applied mathematics, History of mathematics, Essays
Synopsis
<p><b>The ‘Mozart of mathematics’ (<i>New York Times</i>) takes us on a tour of the core ideas of mathematical thinking</b></p><p>In <i>Six Maths Essentials</i>, the renowned mathematician Terence Tao shows how mathematics has evolved from counting and geometry into a flexible set of tools for understanding an increasingly complex world. He moves effortlessly from children discovering infinity through play, to the numbers that underpin our online lives; from Johannes Kepler using algebra to price a barrel of wine, to curved geometries that explain why GPS works and planes don’t fly in straight lines on a map. Along the way, dice games, insurance policies and financial crises illuminate probability’s promise—and its limits—while deceptively simple rules give rise to chaos, pattern and life itself.</p><p>Playful and wise, this is the best entry point for understanding how mathematics works. Contrary to popular perception, maths, Tao insists, isn’t magic—it's a powerful way of thinking from first principles and modelling the world that anyone can learn.</p><p>© Terence Tao 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026</p>
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