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Reaching for the Extreme
How the Quest for the Biggest, Fewest and Weirdest Makes Maths
Brief Description
From the bestselling author of Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities 'Britain's most brilliant and prolific populariser of maths' ALEX BELLOS What is the maximum land you can enclose inside a given border? What is the minimum number of colours you can use to colour in...
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See moreA journey through some of mathematics' prickliest conundrums - and why they matter
A journey through some of mathematics' prickliest conundrums - and why they matter
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Description
From the bestselling author of Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
'Britain's most brilliant and prolific populariser of maths' ALEX BELLOS
What is the maximum land you can enclose inside a given border? What is the minimum number of colours you can use to colour in a map so that no region shares a shade? And how do you calculate the shortest route between two cities?
These questions may not sound related, but they have this in common: they all explore extremes: shortest lines, greatest areas, fewest colours. They have also given rise to some of the most important areas of mathematical study and have resulted in a myriad of applications - from the legend of Dido's founding of the city of Carthage to contemporary satellite navigation systems.
From soap bubbles to the cosmos, Britain's most beloved mathematician tells the fascinating stories of the people and ideas pushing the very bounds of mathematics - and the discoveries that have changed our lives.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781805221593
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 12 February 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Profile Books Ltd
Edition: Main
Illustration: Over 100 greyscale illustrations, graphs, charts
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 34.0mm
Width: 154.0mm
Height: 236.0mm
Weight: 557g
Pages: 352
About the Author
Ian Stewart is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the University of Warwick. He is the author of the bestseller Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities, as well as What's the Use?, Do Dice Play God?, Significant Figures, Incredible Numbers, Seventeen Equations that Changed the World, Professor Stewart's Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries and Calculating the Cosmos. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Also by Professor Ian Stewart
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What's the Use?
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Do Dice Play God?
Uncertainty is everywhere. It lurks in every consideration of the future— the weather, the economy, the sex of an unborn child— even quantities we think that we know, such as populations or the transit of the planets, contain the possibility of error. It's no wonder that, throughout history, we have attempted to produce rigidly defined areas of uncertainty—we prefer the...PaperbackSold Out -
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School maths is not the interesting part. The real fun is elsewhere. Like a magpie, Ian Stewart has collected the most enlightening, entertaining and vexing 'curiosities' of maths over the years. Now, the private collection is displayed in his cabinet. There are some hidden gems of logic, geometry and probability – like how to extract a cherry from a cocktail...PaperbackSold Out
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