Humble Pi cover art

Humble Pi

A Comedy of Maths Errors

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

$8.99/mo after trial ends. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Humble Pi

By: Matt Parker
Narrated by: Matt Parker
Try for $0.00

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $16.18

Buy Now for $16.18

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.

 Mathematics Political Science Politics & Government
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic Reviews

Matt Parker has pulled off something wonderful . . . his stories are superb. (Marcus Berkmann)
Parker is consistently very funny . . . highly entertaining.
Numbers to die for. Four stars. (Simon Griffith)
Bought it yesterday, enjoying it enormously, well done! (Dara Ó Briain)
I just finished the new book by irrepressible maths enthusiast @standupmaths, and it's GREAT! (Adam Savage, ex-host of 'Mythbusters')
An entertaining and often alarming journey through the numerical blunders made over the years.
"[Matt Parker] shows off math at its most playful and multifarious" --Jordan Ellenberg, author of "How to Not Be Wrong
Matt Parker is some sort of unholy fusion of a prankster, wizard and brilliant nerd--maths is rarely this clever, funny and ever so slightly naughty.
All stars
Most relevant
Yep, I do love these style of audiobook. Not only are they interesting and entertaining, but they are great to put on to get the housework done.

Great to put on when doing chores.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great stories but too much repetition of information that the author shared on his YouTube channel

too much repetition of YouTube channel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was initially worried that I would have heard all the examples before as I follow Matt Parker on YouTube. I'm glad to report that there's plenty of new information so even if you've watched all of Matt's videos, you won't be disappointed. It's the same Matt Parker voice and intonation you know and love!

Entertaining, definitely not a Parker Audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love the idea that an error is valuable in that it helps us learn something. Perfect.

Precious foul-ups

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narration was almost on par with that of an Engineer.
Thanks Matt, well read.

Very entertaining.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.