Book Review – Mathematics and Humor, by John Paulos

Quick Review: If you\’re really into philosophy or math, read this book. If not, go for one of the author\’s other books.

 

I got this book because I had read and enjoyed Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences by the same author. That book explained a number of mathematical concepts like statistics and combinatorial logic and how they help understand everyday situations. It was a good combination of clearly explained mathematical lessons and clever insights. In addition to the usual mathematical puzzles like how you only need 23 people to find two with the same birthday, it pointed out things like how many people overestimate the danger of rare, spectacular events like shark attacks while underestimating much more common risks like obesity, smoking, or driving without seatbelts. It was brief, witty, and well written.

I had high hopes for this book, expecting it to be even wittier considering the subject matter. However, the book was less about being funny than it was about comparing the philosophies of mathematics and humor and looking for parallels. It also attempted to explain the quirky sense of humor common to mathematicians and how that helps in mathematical analysis.

Unfortunately for me, I\’m not a mathematician, I don\’t know any mathematicians, I\’m not a philosopher, and I don\’t know any philosophers, so it was difficult to get into this book. It had the same engaging writing style as Innumeracy, but the subject matter was too far from my current interests. I read the first half of the book but chose not to finish because I wasn\’t into it. Learning higher math is one of my medium term goals, and learning philosophy is one of my long term goals, so I will certainly revisit this book later.

About the Author:

John Allen Paulos is a professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia who has gained fame as a writer and speaker, usually on the topic of mathematics and the importance of mathematical literacy [from Wikipedia].

Other books by this author:

Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper

A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market

Beyond Numeracy: Ruminations of a Numbers Man

Once Upon a Number: The Hidden Mathematical Logic of Stories