Thinking in Numbers, Daniel Tammet
Thinking in Numbers, Daniel Tammet
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Thinking in Numbers
How Maths Illuminates Our Lives

Author: Daniel Tammet

Narrator: Daniel Tammet

Unabridged: 9 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/14/2013

Synopsis

This is the book that Daniel Tammet, bestselling author and mathematical savant, was born to write. In Tammet's world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes and everyday examples, Tammet allows us to share his unique insights and delight in the way numbers, fractions and equations underpin all our lives.
Inspired by the complexity of snowflakes, Anne Boleyn's sixth finger or his mother's unpredictable behaviour, Tammet explores questions such as why time seems to speed up as we age, whether there is such a thing as an average person and how we can make sense of those we love.
Thinking in Numbers will change the way you think about maths and fire your imagination to see the world with fresh eyes.

(P)2013 Hodder & Stoughton

About Daniel Tammet

Formerly an autistic child whose mother tongue was numbers, Daniel Tammet is the author of a rich and widely acclaimed body of work, including memoirs, essays, literary reportage, poetry and fiction. Born on a Blue Day (2006) and Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing (2017) were named by Booklist magazine among the editors' annual selections. Thinking in Numbers (2012) was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Tammet's books have been translated into thirty languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kara on June 08, 2013

I can’t resist picking up mathy books when I’m in a bookstore. As a mathematician, I love broadening my knowledge about the field—and seeing what passes for “popular mathematics” these days. Thinking in Numbers is a slim volume that promises to “change the way you think about maths and fire your ima......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on September 11, 2013

When it comes to math and numbers, generally speaking, I am not a fan. I'm a word girl. And yet, in THINKING IN NUMBERS, Daniel Tammet has found a way to help me appreciate the complexity, the magic and, yes, even the beauty he sees in numbers. Early on in this book of essays, Tammet put math into t......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on June 30, 2015

Speechless. So here are some quotes. Epigraph: "Like all great rationalists you believed in things that were twice as incredible as theology." ~Halldor Laxness "the play between numerical concepts saturates the way we experience the world." (xvii) "Like works of literature, mathematical ideas help expa......more

Goodreads review by Rupert on August 12, 2014

This is a philosophy book, a psychology book, an autobiography and a history book. But ultimately it's not a maths book, despite what the cover claims. Sure, it dabbles in numbers and multiplication somewhat, but nothing beyond basic primary school level. I'm all for encouraging learning in areas whe......more

Goodreads review by James on July 15, 2015

Interesting and poetic. Caveat: much of this book is about numbers, but very little of it is about math. Its main value is the insight it offers into the author's differently-functioning brain. I'm unable to quit without mentioning that the author fell into a couple of mathematical errors. The first......more

Quotes

Thinking in Numbers is unprecedented: a pitch-perfect duet between mathematics and literature ... Mathematics, Tammet says, is illimitable. It is a language through which the human imagination expresses itself. Presumably this means mathematics has, or deserves, a literature. In Tammet, it already has a laureate. New Scientist

A collection of essays on subjects as diverse as Shakespeare and Tolstoy, a rumination on snow and another on chess, as well as a fantastically nuanced piece about his mother. It is a collection which showcases Tammet's extraordinary talent . . . a writer of unique capabilities. Scotsman Magazine

An interesting and often beautiful approach: Tammet writes well... and his love of numbers shines from the page... Tammet's discussion of big numbers is fascinating. Daily Telegraph

Tammet's choice of subjects is personal, and wonderfully eclectic... What lifts Tammet's entertaining collection above the ordinary are the often surprising links that he sees, explores and explains. Sunday Telegraph

Explores the 'what if' of maths and links it with literature and life. He is an exhilarating thinker, an exciting writer, and looks at the world with an eclectic, quizzical eye. Saga Magazine

Tammet is an accomplished writer with a prose style akin to a warm embrace... scintillating ... enlightens and entertains in (approximately) equal measure. Daily Express

When he talks about his own extreme skills, such as his feat of pi memorisation, the book comes alive. BBC Focus

Daniel Tammet's unique take on the world will prove that life - not just classroom maths - is more than just a numbers game. Gay Times

As fluid with words as with numbers, his essays are artfully constructed: intriguing openings to entice us; interesting snippets of history; accessible but unpatronising tones; neat endings. Independent

In Tammet's mind, literature, art and maths are united. For him, maths' real-life applications are not merely tax returns and restaurant bills, but the storytelling of an infinite subject and the reasoning behind our daily existence. The Huffington Post

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