A practical, illuminating and timeless guide to thinking better, from a Royal Society Prize shortlisted mathematician - now in paperback
Eugenia Cheng is Honorary Fellow in Pure Mathematics at the University of Sheffield and Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was educated at the University of Cambridge and did post-doctoral work at the Universities of Cambridge, Chicago and Nice. Since 2007 her YouTube lectures and videos have been viewed over a million times. A concert pianist, she also speaks French, English and Cantonese, and her mission in life is to rid the world of maths phobia. She is the author of How to Bake Pi and Beyond Infinity, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Royal Society Science Book Prize.
Mind-expanding ... a meaningful contribution to creating a better
society as well as happier conversations and relationships
*Guardian*
A mathematician's thought-provoking attempt to lay out the tools of
rational argument
*New Statesman Books of the Year*
With humour, grace, and a natural gift for making explanations seem
fun, Eugenia Cheng has done it again. This is a book to savour, to
consult, and to buy for all your friends. You'll think more clearly
after reading this book, something that is unfortunately in short
supply these days. I am buying several copies to send to heads of
state.
*Daniel Levitin, bestselling author of The Organised Mind & A Field
Guide to Lies and Statistics*
In an era awash with conflict, exploitation, tribalism and fake
news, the "illuminating precision" offered by logic is important.
Cheng harnesses the power of abstraction to explore real-life
phenomena such as sexism and white privilege. She walks us through
the grand terrain of logic, from axioms to proofs. And she reveals
how to build arguments as long chains of logical implications - a
"virtuosic and masterful" skill that, combined with intelligent
emotional engagement, can cut through pervasive irrationality
*Nature*
A perceptive analysis of logic and its limitations ... Cheng is
successful not only in helping readers think more clearly, but in
helping them understand why others sometimes appear to be
illogical. This book has the potential to help understanding and
avoid confrontational arguments that serve only to entrench
opposing views
*Times Higher Education*
Radical and liberating
*Emerald Street*
We're thankful that someone like Eugenia Cheng is here; someone to
eloquently and efficiently expound on concepts like logic and truth
at a time when their very basis seems to come under attack ...
We're forever on the lookout for someone to make mathematics both
fun and accessible, and it looks like we've found that person in
Eugenia Cheng
*How it Works Magazine*
A concert pianist, mathematician, polyglot and YouTube star, Cheng
has carved out quite a niche for herself ... she brings an
ebullient enthusiasm that's infectious
*Guardian*
Witty, charming, and crystal clear. Eugenia Cheng's enthusiasm and
carefully chosen metaphors and analogies carry us effortlessly
through the mathematical landscape
*Ian Stewart*
Clear, clever and friendly
*Alex Bellos*
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