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A review by corydoesmath
The Calculus of Friendship: What a Teacher and a Student Learned about Life While Corresponding about Math by Steven Strogatz
3.0
It's a short and wholesome book, but it could have been just as effective as a 5-10 YouTube video. It's about Steven's letters to his former math teacher, Mr. Joffray. They exchange math problems and short blips of news, usually preferring math over more devastating news (death of a family member or divorce). Corresponding about math helped them through the hard bits of life, but Steven wanted to know more about Joffray as a person. I'm afraid that the math was a little too prevailing and a whole picture wasn't quite drawn out.
The math in this book is written at a pretty high level. I have a degree in math and I couldn't follow it... I would have to sit down with a pen and paper and check each step line-by-line (in a few cases, I did). So in a way, I didn't really read the book. I skipped the math. But I have faith that if I really wanted to know a problem, I could sit down and follow the proof. I sadly didn't have the interest to do that this time around. I'm not sure if the math is there so people can follow it or so that there's a reference. I do enjoy all of the life philosophies connected to mathematical concepts. Every chapter has a theme that connects to where Steven and Mr. Joffray were in life and the math.
Writing "pop math" is extremely hard and Steven Strogatz is considered one of the best. Reading pop math books in high school was the reason I learned to love math, so I'm indebted to them. But... there are very few good pop math books. Most of them contain the same 14 or so math concepts. (Once, I tried to write an essay about why pop math books are usually bad, so I've thought about this a lot.) This book is unique in that the math is at a much higher level, mostly calculus, and has a greater theme about correspondence between a student and a teacher. I think the idea for the book was fantastic, but it wasn't executed as well as I had hoped. I think what pushes this into three-star territory over two-star territory is how short it is and how easy it would be to pull out a chapter and think about a problem later on. It's now a good resource and place of inspiration.
So, as the summer comes to a close, let's hope I can keep up reading throughout the school year. And also, please help me find a good pop math book.
The math in this book is written at a pretty high level. I have a degree in math and I couldn't follow it... I would have to sit down with a pen and paper and check each step line-by-line (in a few cases, I did). So in a way, I didn't really read the book. I skipped the math. But I have faith that if I really wanted to know a problem, I could sit down and follow the proof. I sadly didn't have the interest to do that this time around. I'm not sure if the math is there so people can follow it or so that there's a reference. I do enjoy all of the life philosophies connected to mathematical concepts. Every chapter has a theme that connects to where Steven and Mr. Joffray were in life and the math.
Writing "pop math" is extremely hard and Steven Strogatz is considered one of the best. Reading pop math books in high school was the reason I learned to love math, so I'm indebted to them. But... there are very few good pop math books. Most of them contain the same 14 or so math concepts. (Once, I tried to write an essay about why pop math books are usually bad, so I've thought about this a lot.) This book is unique in that the math is at a much higher level, mostly calculus, and has a greater theme about correspondence between a student and a teacher. I think the idea for the book was fantastic, but it wasn't executed as well as I had hoped. I think what pushes this into three-star territory over two-star territory is how short it is and how easy it would be to pull out a chapter and think about a problem later on. It's now a good resource and place of inspiration.
So, as the summer comes to a close, let's hope I can keep up reading throughout the school year. And also, please help me find a good pop math book.