Name: Math with bad drawings
ISBN: 9780316509039

Math with bad drawings

"A hilarious reeducation in mathematics--full of joy, jokes, and stick figures--that sheds light on the countless practical and wonderful ways that math structures and shapes our world. In Math With Bad Drawings, Ben Orlin reveals to us what math actually is; its myriad uses, its strange symbols, and the wild leaps of logic and faith that define the usually impenetrable work of the mathematician. Truth and knowledge come in multiple forms: colorful drawings, encouraging jokes, and the stories and insights of an empathetic teacher who believes that math should belong to everyone. Orlin shows us how to think like a mathematician by teaching us a brand-new game of tic-tac-toe, how to understand an economic crises by rolling a pair of dice, and the mathematical headache that ensues when attempting to build a spherical Death Star. Every discussion in the book is illustrated with Orlin's trademark "bad drawings," which convey his message and insights with perfect pitch and clarity. With 24 chapters covering topics from the electoral college to human genetics to the reasons not to trust statistics, Math with Bad Drawings is a life-changing book for the math-estranged and math-enamored alike"--Dust jacket.

What Hacker News says

PostOnceJul 2025

The concept of being able to (for a physical example) rip ANY page out of a book and being able to replace it using only the information on your single "magic page" is incredible. With two magic pages you can replace any two torn out pages, and the magic pages are interchangeable.

The math we have mastered is incredible. If only they could impart this wonder to children instead of rote worksheets enforced by drill sergeant math teachers.

While I'm ranting, I checked out a book from the library yesterday called "Math with Bad Drawings", it's very fun, and approachable for anyone with no math background, kids and adults enjoy it.

We need more STEM for fun, and not just STEM for money. That's how we get good at STEM.

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rg111Nov 2022

- Math with Bad Drawings by Ben Orlin

- Infinite Powers and The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz

- Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstadter

(Avoiding text books as one's mileage might vary, and having fun depends on the readers' levels as well.)

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rg111Oct 2022

I read the Math with Bad Drawings book. I loved it.

I did my undergrad in Physics, and I work in Deep Learning. I have dealt with hard math all my life. And I, too, learned a lot from these books.

I would highly recommend this book to you even if you have studied Math systematically in an academic setting.

These books are worth the money and time.

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localhostMay 2019

+1. Motivation is perhaps the most important aspect of teaching. I find that lectures are a terrible medium for teaching a concept; I find that I need time for quiet contemplation / practice / experimentation to truly understand something. However, lectures are fantastic for motivation and encouraging me to do the extra work on my own.

I've been reading (along with my kids) Ben Orlin's Math with Bad Drawings book which is great at motivating and presenting math in interesting ways that are all about presenting things as an interesting puzzle to be solved vs. the way much of math is presented in a rote "this is the algorithm / solution" way.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Math_with_Bad_Drawings....

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sohkamyungApr 2019

Check out this comic on "Why Not to Trust Statistics" [1]. His book, "Math With Bad Drawings" [2] has a chapter on statistics and why not to trust a single statistical measure only.

[1] https://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2016/07/13/why-not-to-trust-...

[2] https://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2018/05/23/math-with-bad-dra...

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mikesicklerDec 2018

* Math with Bad Drawings

* The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World

* Bad Blood

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