How to Bake Pi
An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics
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Narrated by:
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Tavia Gilbert
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By:
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Eugenia Cheng
About this listen
What is math? And how exactly does it work? In How to Bake Pi, math professor Eugenia Cheng provides an accessible introduction to the logic of mathematics - sprinkled throughout with recipes for everything from crispy duck to cornbread - that illustrates to the general listener the beauty of math. Rather than dwell on the math of our high school classes, with formulas to memorize and confusing symbols to decipher, Cheng takes us into a world of abstract mathematics, showing us how math can be so much more than we ever thought possible.
Cheng is an expert on category theory, a cutting-edge subject that is all about figuring out how math works, a kind of mathematics of mathematics. In How to Bake Pi, Cheng starts with the basic question "What is math?" to explain concepts like abstraction, generalization, and idealization. By going back to the logical foundation of the math we all know (and may or may not love), she shows that math is actually designed to make difficult things easier. From there, she introduces us to category theory, explaining how it works to organize and simplify the whole discipline of mathematics. The result is a book that combines some of the most satisfying features of popular math books - the thrill of truly understanding things that may or may not have been confounding in high school - while still looking long and hard into unexplored territory.
Through lively writing and easy-to-follow explanations, How to Bake Pi takes even the most hardened math-phobeon a journey to the cutting edge of mathematical research.
©2015 Eugenia Cheng. Recorded by arrangement with Weinstein Books. (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will.
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Loved it, but some philosophy background needed.
- By LongerILiveLessIKnow on 11-14-13
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Dance of the Photons
- From Einstein to Quantum Teleportation
- By: Anton Zeilinger
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Einstein's steadfast refusal to accept certain aspects of quantum theory was rooted in his insistence that physics has to be about reality. Accordingly, he once derided as spooky action at a distance the notion that two elementary particles far removed from each other could nonetheless influence each others propertiesa hypothetical phenomenon his fellow theorist Erwin Schrdinger termed quantum entanglement.
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Brilliant author tries hard, but comes up short...
- By Michael on 07-27-12
By: Anton Zeilinger
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Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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Not written to be read aloud
- By A Reader in Maine on 02-21-20
By: Steven Strogatz
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Significant Figures
- The Lives and Work of Great Mathematicians
- By: Ian Stewart
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics.
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Beware
- By Anton Kurtz on 12-08-18
By: Ian Stewart
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Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar. Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.
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Great for casual linguists
- By Bertie on 01-11-10
By: John McWhorter
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Spooky Action at a Distance
- The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time-and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything
- By: George Musser
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally stop to ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time. The phenomenon - the ability of one particle to affect another instantly across the vastness of space - appears to be almost magical.
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Rambling but Asks Good Questions
- By Michael on 12-19-15
By: George Musser
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Euclid's Window
- The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace
- By: Leonard Mlodinow
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Through Euclid's Window Leonard Mlodinow brilliantly and delightfully leads us on a journey through five revolutions in geometry, from the Greek concept of parallel lines to the latest notions of hyperspace. Here is an altogether new, refreshing, alternative history of math revealing how simple questions anyone might ask about space -- in the living room or in some other galaxy -- have been the hidden engine of the highest achievements in science and technology.
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Wow!
- By Eric on 08-13-10
By: Leonard Mlodinow
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Six Not-So-Easy Pieces
- Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry, and Space-Time
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Richard P. Feynman
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
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No 20th-century American scientist is better known to a wider spectrum of people than Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), physicist, teacher, author, and cultural icon. His autobiographies and biographies have been read and enjoyed by millions of readers around the world, while his wit and eccentricities have made him the subject of TV specials and even a theatrical film.
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Very Interesting, but ...
- By Doug on 01-01-06
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Conversations That Matter: Insights & Distinctions - Landmark Essays, Volume 2
- By: Steve Zaffron, Laurel Scheaf, Mark Spirtos, and others
- Narrated by: Gale LeGassick, Steve Zaffron, Laurel Scheaf, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Landmark Essays, Volume 2 continues a wonderful journey to the heart of the matter of our lives, to what matters most. It points out what's possible if we step outside of what we know, and recognize and embrace our capacity to bring forth an entirely new possibility for living—not because it is better, but simply because that is what human beings can do.
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A part of this was worth buying
- By goyo on 12-14-11
By: Steve Zaffron, and others
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A Beginner’s Guide to Reality
- Exploring Our Everyday Adventures in Wonderland
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
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A unique fusion of philosophy and metaphysics set against the backdrop of contemporary culture. Have you ever wondered if the world is really there when you're not looking? We tend to take the reality of our world very much for granted. This book will lead you down the rabbit hole in search of something we can point to, hang our hats on, and say this is real.
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A real great listen on the nature of reality
- By Patrick Mabry, Jr. on 07-30-14
By: Jim Baggott
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Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
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Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved
- How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. The first popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.
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Historical Perspective Appreciated
- By Michael Hanrahan on 01-22-20
By: Mario Livio
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one of the best history books
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Wonderful book!
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Maybe for children, but not for me
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one of the best history books
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Great listen
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The information is wonderful!
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Read this book!
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Better [more relevant] than you might expect.
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Why are men in charge? After years in the male-dominated field of mathematics and in the female-dominated field of art, Eugenia Cheng has heard the question many times. In x + y, Cheng argues that her mathematical specialty - category theory - reveals why. Category theory deals more with context, relationships, and nuanced versions of equality than with intrinsic characteristics. Category theory also emphasizes dimensionality: much as a cube can cast a square or diamond shadow, depending on your perspective, so too do gender politics appear to change with how we examine them.
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Modern day Flatland
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Crank alert: rejects modern cosmology
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Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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Not written to be read aloud
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drones on and on for hours!
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The Man Who Knew Infinity
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In 1913, an unschooled young Indian clerk wrote a letter to G. H. Hardy, begging that preeminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers. Hardy, realizing the letter was the work of a genius, arranged for Srinivasa Ramanujan to come to England. Thus began one of the most remarkable collaborations ever chronicled.
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Thorough and Enjoyable
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Measurement
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For seven years, Paul Lockhart's A Mathematician's Lament enjoyed a samizdat-style popularity in the mathematics underground, before demand prompted its 2009 publication to even wider applause and debate. An impassioned critique of K-12 mathematics education, it outlined how we shortchange students by introducing them to math the wrong way. Here, Lockhart offers the positive side of the math education story by showing us how math should be done. Measurement offers a permanent solution to math phobia by introducing us to mathematics as an artful way of thinking and living.
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Wonderfully written!
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What listeners say about How to Bake Pi
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bonny
- 08-06-15
Mathematics is easy, life is hard.
I read How to Bake Pi in hopes that ingredients, dessert recipes, and baking would help elucidate math for me, and this worked for the most part. Some of the food analogies are necessarily a bit forced, and I had trouble relating some of them to the math being discussed, but that was most likely a failing on my part.
One thing that stands out in Dr. Cheng's book is her ability to clearly define and talk about math terms that I've heard, been taught, used, but never completely understood (or perhaps I've forgotten.) She thoroughly discusses concepts like abstraction, generalization and axiomatization in ways that even I could understand, before writing about her own field of category theory in the second part of the book. Things got a bit murky there for me; I kept wondering, “What is category theory?” even while hearing that it is “the mathematics of mathematics.” This is probably because I'm a reader and student that needs concrete examples that I can ponder and examine, but I'm not sure category theory or Dr. Cheng can provide that.
What I liked best about How to Bake Pi is Dr. Cheng's enthusiasm for her subject matter, that she seems to really care about explaining mathematics to non-mathematicians, that she made me think and also raised many other questions, ideas, and areas of interest for me. Even if you may not care about math or think math is difficult, listening to How to Bake Pi may change your mind in an interesting and enjoyable way. Like the author says, “Mathematics is easy, life is hard.”
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24 people found this helpful
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- Steve
- 04-07-16
Oral Recipe Book
All in all, I liked this book. However, even though I was a mathematician (not PHD), it was hard to follow without seeing the recipes, formulae and theorems. Watching Julia Childs was fun and entertaining, but I had to buy her recipe book in order to actually prepare something.
Such is the case with this book. I will have to buy a hard copy in order to try the recipes (they sound quite good) and review the math (much of which I have forgotten over the years).
Tavia did a good job of relating rather complex material in clear voice with great inflection and a good sense of timing for the humor.
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- J Bennett
- 06-19-16
Unsure of goal
I have a mathematics degree and teach high school math. I understood the content, however many times I wondered where the author was going. I had some insights along the way but less so as the book progressed.
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- Evan
- 03-15-16
Might not be best for audio
Very interesting book, I throughly enjoyed it. However I feel like there are probbly some illustrations described in the book that would make more sense when shown.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anthony
- 03-24-16
Applying Mathematics to our world
Opened my mind to viewing mathematics like how I view science and philosophy. My cohort group was taught the "rules" to follow to get an answer not how and why these rules were developed. Expanded my mind and views on life. Not an easy listen but worth it if you have the inclination to read between the lines and get a better perspective of the world around us.
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3 people found this helpful
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- S. A. Monroe
- 05-26-16
Interesting
I really liked the recipe examples. They helped a lot with understanding the concepts explained.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Hendrick Mcdonald
- 07-17-16
A good overview of the mathmatical thought process
This book was surprisingly enjoyable. It focuses on the thought process behind math, decoding the type of thinking that goes into the theories and equations that math produces. The concepts include simplification, abstraction, relations, building from other principles. It does this with a very inviting tone, presenting the idea, relating it to coming, providing some examples of how this is used in math, adding in an analogy or two and then recapping the concept. Very pleasant book, which in the last 3rd focuses on "category theory" which takes a 'structuralist' sort of approach to math.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Thomas O.
- 04-07-16
Great book... Tough listen...
The book was very interesting, and the production was great. I had a hard time following along when an equation was being read though. I would prefer to read this book rather than listen to it.
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- J.B.
- 07-31-16
How To Think Mathematics
How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics, By Eugenia Cheng, narrated By Tavia Gilbert. That is because I am a novice in mathematics, but nevertheless, intrigued with obtaining a working knowledge of mathematics. (Have you ever wondered why there are effectively no synonyms for math?)
I thought maybe How to Bake Pi would teach me how to calculate. It was better, much better, as it is a layman’s guide to mathematical conceptualization. Does that sound boring? Dr. Cheng, has made it captivating.
If you have an expertise in math and want to conceptualize your methodology of functioning or you are simply wondering about how a mathematician goes about conceptualizing her/his job read this. Overall the teaching is not simple and definitely takes an academic’s desire to learn but wow it was fun (although I would need to read the book six more times to master its teaching).
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3 people found this helpful
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- Evan
- 08-01-16
This one blew me away.
I always thought of mathematics as a hard fact, absolute truth. Now i know its a human perception. I'm not doing it justice.
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2 people found this helpful