Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors in Science and Inquiry

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Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors

Matt Parker

Start date: August 1, 2022

Finish date: August 31, 2022

Discussion: Book Club 2022

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Book Club 2022

November 2022 - Rise of the Mammals
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last updated May 05, 2024 12:39AM

December 2022 - Immense World
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What Members Thought

Apr 05, 2021 David Rubenstein rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, mathematics, psychology

This is a marvelous book about all the ways that math errors can infiltrate our day-to-day living. Some of the math errors are just fun (as in older arcade games), while others have life-or-death consequences (like airplanes running out of fuel mid-flight).

Some of the math errors are simply a confusion about units; feet/meters, pounds/kilograms, and so on. One such error was when a jet liner was loaded up with fuel in pounds, instead of kilograms. Luckily, there was a mid-flight landing and refu ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Aug 10, 2022 Jim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science, 2non-fiction, 1audio, historical

A GR friend of mine wrote in his review that this is cotton candy for the mind. I'd give it higher marks, but I understand his point. This book is fun, well narrated, & probably informative to those without much experience with math, the history of engineering disasters, & computer programming. I'm not particularly well versed in these subjects, but I recognized many (most) immediately. Still, if you're not familiar with any of that, this would be eye-opening. It's probably a good book for the u A GR friend of mine wrote in his review that this is cotton candy for the mind. I'd give it higher marks, but I understand his point. This book is fun, well narrated, & probably informative to those without much experience with math, the history of engineering disasters, & computer programming. I'm not particularly well versed in these subjects, but I recognized many (most) immediately. Still, if you're not familiar with any of that, this would be eye-opening. It's probably a good book for the under 30 crowd down to teens, maybe even somewhat younger.

I liked his point about blame. We want to find a villain in every disaster, but often they were well meaning people who were working at the edge of our knowledge or it was a committee failure. A little larger or heavier construct suddenly passes a limit where previously minor problems become major ones or add up in odd ways. Many of our projects are too complex for anyone to have a full grasp of all the parts &/or market/political forces overshadowed a dire warning. It's instructive, sad, & all too common.

He spent a little too much time with exact, very large numbers which I pretty much ignored since I listened to the audiobook. An exact number in the millions is meaningless to me & everyone else except in very specific situations & this book wasn't one. That's why we have significant digits & scientific notation, a point he made, but could have done better, IMO. He's too young to remember the days of the slide rule. He mentions them, but doesn't really have a feel for them & the way they shaped our thinking since he grew up with calculators & computers, but his example of the increase in numbers is one I use constantly, too.
1,000 seconds = about 17 minutes
1 million seconds = about 12 days
1 billion seconds = about 32 years
1 trillion seconds = about 32,000 years
I can't grasp the last in any personal sense, but this helps me keep some perspective when dealing with large numbers.

His narration was excellent & there was enough humor to keep it interesting. Still, it was simple enough that if I zoned out for a few minutes, I didn't really miss anything. I'll give it 4 stars & recommend it to most with the above reservations. ...more

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