Math with bad drawings
by Ben Orlin · first published 2018
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
An informal, humorous tour of math ideas paired with illustrations, praised for making hard concepts approachable and motivating. Suits parents reading with kids, readers with no math background, and experts.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"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
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- 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…
on “Ask HN: Math books you recommend just for the way they are written?” ↗* Math with Bad Drawings * The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World * Bad Blood
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗…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…
on “Gilbert Strang's New Course on Linear Algebra+ for ML Now Online” ↗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...
on “Averages Can Be Misleading: Try a Percentile (2014)” ↗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…
on “Math with Bad Drawings” ↗…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.
on “Reading QR codes without a computer (2023)” ↗