Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Humble Pi
- A Comedy of Maths Errors
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
Humble Pi
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Humble Pi written and read by Matt Parker.
What makes a bridge wobble when it's not meant to? Billions of dollars mysteriously vanish into thin air? A building rock when its resonant frequency matches a gym class leaping to Snap's 1990 hit I've Got The Power? The answer is maths. Or, to be precise, what happens when maths goes wrong in the real world.
As Matt Parker shows us, our modern lives are built on maths: computer programmes, finance, engineering. And most of the time this maths works quietly behind the scenes, until...it doesn't. Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near-misses and mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman empire and a hapless Olympic shooting team, Matt Parker shows us the bizarre ways maths trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world.
Mathematics doesn't have good 'people skills', but we would all be better off, he argues, if we saw it as a practical ally. This book shows how, by making maths our friend, we can learn from its pitfalls. It also contains puzzles, challenges, geometric socks, jokes about binary code and three deliberate mistakes. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
Critic reviews
"Matt Parker has pulled off something wonderful...his stories are superb." (Marcus Berkmann)
"Bought it yesterday, enjoying it enormously, well done!" (Dara Ó Briain)
"[Matt Parker] shows off math at its most playful and multifarious." (Jordan Ellenberg, author of How to Not Be Wrong)
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about Humble Pi
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 23-08-19
Amazing book well done Matt!!!
loved following all the stories about maths mistakes. great book and worth a read if you like technical books
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gav Barnett
- 06-04-19
Parker Square!
Great book.
Well adapted for audio and read by the author. Excel spreadsheets rule the world.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Comanche
- 11-05-20
Came from YouTube. Loved it from start to finish.
Loved the narration solve by Matt himself. There are some glorious nuggets of verbal translation that would be lost to ask audio listener, and it's refreshing to have an audio book read as a verbal guide, rather than being read word for word verbatim.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. M. J. Yeomans
- 24-04-20
Great fun very interesting and amusing
Enjoyable book that was insightful and informative, with lots of fun little facts that helped show some the amazigness and challenges of the modern world and the difficulty humanity faces
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- C. Carey
- 29-06-22
Even if you're not mathsy!
lively and fun, a great trip through the often inaccessible world of maths.
very enjoyable!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 12-03-23
Fun read.. if a touch nearby
Makes for a fun book if you are inclined to learn a few nerd details..
gonna play a game of packman or space invaders now 😅
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gustavo Guida
- 02-04-19
As if maths on its own wasn't funny enough!
Matt does it again! whether you know him from YouTube or not this author can bring a funny twist to everything mathematical, and that means that he can add a fun twist to everything. This eye opening book will make you reflect on the deepest thoughts with a smile on your face and a nice LoL from time to time!
Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 21-05-19
gripping!
Matt Parker's enthusiasm is contagious. His real world examples show maths isn't just some abstract subject designed for the teachers to tell you how thick you are. Great for anyone interested in science and engineering, as well as maths-curious people.😀
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- ChrisR
- 29-05-19
Not a Parker Square
Clickbait subtitle; The Maths they don't want you to know.
Fantastic book. Delightfully read in a tone that only Matt Parker can read in.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- cach9801
- 19-09-19
Good nerdy fun
I've been a Matt Parker fan for quite a few years, having seen him perform maths on stage live twice. This book was a fun listen full of interesting times when major things go hideously wrong because of numbers! I'd listen again!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!