Mathematics and the Real World: The Remarkable Role of Evolution in the Making of Mathematics

If your interest in mathematics is only casual, there is far too much in this book for you. But if you love mathematics and want weeks and weeks of pleasurable reading, Mathematics and the Real World by Zvi Artstein is perfect for your book reading pile. Don’t expect light reading, but Artstein is a very good writer and his reading style is as light and easy to read as possible considering the deep subject. This is a huge volume, mostly text with occasional sketches as illustrations, and the subject is exactly what the title claims: how mathematics fits into the real world. The author has undertaken a thorough research on the subject and names hundreds of researchers throughout the book with scores and scores of examples and stories. He discusses the role of mathematics in the evolutionary struggle; his historic overview is meticulous starting from the earliest mathematicians (Babylonians, Assyrians and Egyptians) and works his way through to Einstein and the computer age. He touches many subjects: animals and math (yes, they can count up to seven), math in human behavior (e.g. match making and voting systems). This is a wonderful volume if you have deep interest in mathematics.