Love Triangle, Matt Parker
Love Triangle, Matt Parker
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Love Triangle
How Trigonometry Shapes the World

Author: Matt Parker

Narrator: Matt Parker

Unabridged: 8 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 08/20/2024


Synopsis

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

An ode to triangles, the shape that makes our lives possible
 
Trigonometry is perhaps the most essential concept humans have ever devised. The simple yet versatile triangle allows us to record music, map the world, launch rockets into space, and be slightly less bad at pool. Triangles underpin our day-to-day lives and civilization as we know it.
 
In Love Triangle, Matt Parker argues we should all show a lot more love for triangles, along with all the useful trigonometry and geometry they enable. To prove his point, he uses triangles to create his own digital avatar, survive a harrowing motorcycle ride, cut a sandwich, fall in love, measure tall buildings in a few awkward bounds, and make some unusual art. Along the way, he tells extraordinary and entertaining stories of the mathematicians, engineers, and philosophers—starting with Pythagoras—who dared to take triangles seriously.
 
This is the guide you should have had in high school—a lively and definitive answer to “Why do I need to learn about trigonometry?” Parker reveals triangles as the hidden pattern beneath the surface of the contemporary world. Like love, triangles actually are all around. And in the air. And they’re all you need.

About The Author

Matt Parker is a stand-up comedian and a YouTuber with over one hundred million views. He is the author of the international bestseller Humble Pi and Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension. Matt is also frequently seen, heard, and read on the Science Channel, on BBC radio, and in The Guardian, in that order. He has previously held world records for both the Rubik’s Cube and Space Invaders. In the pursuit of math, Matt has: flipped a coin 10,000 times, traveled to Antarctica, memorized π to hundreds of digits, and been bitten by a bullet ant in the Amazon rainforest. Matt has given math lectures at Cambridge University, Oxford University, Harvard University, and Lake Monger Primary School.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jonathan on November 15, 2024

While I loved this book, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have at least a moderate interest in math. Matt is a funny and easy to understand teacher, but it’s still a math-heavy book. If reading 300 pages about triangles feels a bit daunting, I’d highly recommend his YouTube channel which is more a......more

Goodreads review by Dana on October 19, 2024

I don’t know if I can express how much I appreciate and enjoyed this book. Mathematics is a topic that makes many cringe, and I’m know different. But over the last decade, because of my love of science and wanting to understand the universe, I have been learning. So I’m always looking out for good b......more

Goodreads review by Verity on June 16, 2024

Matt Parker is a man who is very excited by triangles and he wants you to be excited by triangles too! The book skips along with humour and enthusiasm which is just so infectious. I had fun and I learned stuff - what more could you want?......more

Goodreads review by Steven on July 11, 2024

Over all I enjoyed it. Matt Parker is funny and explains topics in a clear and interesting way, knowing how much detail to give so as to not bore the reader. The topics he chose to speak about were a little applied for my tastes, but I think that issue lies with me.......more

Goodreads review by Ashley on March 07, 2025

funny! mathy! liked it but not sure it would be up your alley if you don’t like math......more


Quotes

“A funny and often surprising guide to the history of triangles—and the applications (both practical and highly impractical) of trigonometry.” —Tim Harford, Financial Times

"Amid all the funny, Love Triangle provides a wondrous refresher course for anyone feeling nostalgically trig curious. It’s hardly a textbook, but a teacher could easily triangulate numerous fascinating and fun lesson plans from this edifying volume." —The Wall Street Journal

"A rare book about math sure to make you smile, despite your feelings about the subject. Once again, Parker measures up." —Kirkus Reviews

"Fascinating, funny and far-reaching." —BookPage

"Parker has a fine old time with his material, and only a curmudgeon could fail to be charmed." —The Telegraph (UK)

“Matt Parker has made me laugh about math many times by showing just how weird it can get. He’s also made me cry about math by showing how transcendently beautiful it is.” —Adam Savage, MythBusters co-host and author of Every Tool’s a Hammer

Love Triangle is a blissful blend of pure science and pure merriment. Edifying, entertaining, excellent!” —Alex James, food writer and Blur bass player
 
“Fine. Triangles are now my favorite shape.” —Hannah Fry, author of Hello World