100 Essential Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know about Math and the Arts

You need a quiet place where you can read this book undisturbed. This excellent volume for the curious mind is exactly what it says: one hundred fascinating things few of us are aware of yet that are fun to learn. We’re presented with one hundred short two- to four-page chapters by prolific writer and mathematician John Barrow, and since mathematics is part of each chapter, he encourages you to think about the topic to grasp its meaning. The subjects range widely, such as the grand jeté of a ballet dancer, digital instant correction of pitch or timing of a vocalist, and mathematical synchronization of sound on a pop concert’s front and back speaker towers. The reading is easy and will keep readers amused and amazed for quite a while—the book is not meant to be read from cover to cover but absorbed over weeks, a few chapters at a time. Occasional sketches further elucidate the subject. In appreciating this book it helps to be interested in mathematics but mostly to have an inquisitive mind. The book concludes with notes (referred to by superscript numbers in the text) that give the reader references or further clarification. This is a wonderful reading material.