Unequal: The Math of When Things Do and Don't Add Up

Synopsis

An exciting "new perspective on equality and difference" (Stephon Alexander) that shows why the familiar equal sign isn&’t just a marker of sameness but a gateway into math&’s—and humanity&’s—most profound questions "Eugenia Cheng has opened up my mind to the wondrous world of pure mathematics in a way that I never thought was possible."―Willow Smith, singer and actress Math is famous for its equations: 1 + 1 = 2, a^2 + b^2 = c^2, or y = mx + b. Much of the time it can seem like that&’s all mathematics is: following steps to show that what&’s on one side of an equation is the same as what&’s on the other. In Unequal, Eugenia Cheng shows that&’s just part of the story, and the boring part to boot. Mathematics isn&’t only about showing how numbers and symbols are the same. It isn&’t even just about numbers and symbols at all, but a world of shapes, symmetries, logical ideas, and more. And in that world, the boundary between things being equal and unequal is a gray area, or perhaps a rainbow of beautiful, vibrant, subtly nuanced color. As Unequal shows, once you go over that rainbow, almost everything can be considered equal and unequal at the same time, whether it&’s shapes (seen from the right perspective, a circle is the same as an ellipse), words (synonyms), or people—even numbers! It all depends on what features we care about. And it&’s up to us what we do about it. That&’s because mathematics isn&’t a series of rules, facts, or answers. It&’s an invitation to a more powerful way of thinking.

Copyright:

2025

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781541606562

Related ISBNs:

9781541606555

Publisher:

Basic Books

Date of Addition:

09/02/25

Copyrighted By:

Eugenia Cheng

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Mathematics and Statistics, Philosophy

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.