Humble Pi cover art

Humble Pi

A Comedy of Maths Errors

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Humble Pi

By: Matt Parker
Narrated by: Matt Parker
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About this listen

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.

©2019 Matt Parker (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Mathematics Political Science Politics & Government

Critic Reviews

"Matt Parker has pulled off something wonderful...his stories are superb." (Marcus Berkmann)

"Bought it yesterday, enjoying it enormously, well done!" (Dara Ó Briain)

"[Matt Parker] shows off math at its most playful and multifarious." (Jordan Ellenberg, author of How to Not Be Wrong)

All stars
Most relevant  
great stories but too much repetition of information that the author shared on his YouTube channel

too much repetition of YouTube channel

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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.

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First I'd like to thank the legendary Dr Karl (triple j, sleek geeks, and famousfor his very colourful shirts) for having Matt Parker on his podcast "Shirtloads of Science" and letting us know about this great book and audio book.

Matt Parker has a very dry sense of humour when it comes to explaining the failures of what most would consider a "perfect" field like mathematics.

The examples shown in the book are real time examples, explained in pretty much understandable language, and it has actually tweaked my interest in maths again.... 35 years after leaving school.

who would have thought that there was such a thing as "recreational mathematics"!

Making Maths, and its mistakes, unmistakable

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Really enjoyed this mix of math and storytelling to engage and learn about interesting situation.

Super Enjoyable

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He makes mathematics sound like more than just numbers and shows how it affects many unexpected things in our lives on a deep level with a focus on human stuff-ups. His sense of humour accompanying it is an acquired taste. Great book overall. Voice acting was also satisfactory.

Maths is fun

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If you enjoy Matt's YouTube videos, you'll also enjoy this book. Presented really well in Matt's usual nerdy, enthusiastic manner.

Thoroughly entertaining

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I'm always amazed by the dumb things Matt can find to talk about. Bloody brilliant.

Laughed the whole way through.

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The narration was almost on par with that of an Engineer.
Thanks Matt, well read.

Very entertaining.

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Matt Parker has an engaging storytelling style which matches confusing mathematics with simple explanations and funny stories. As this book is read by him for the audiobook we hear how the book was intended to be read.

The reader, or rather listener, does not need any mathematics background as Matt explains things well enough for anyone to understand.

Thanks Matt! And I would like to also thank Bradly Haran for introducing me to your work.

A great read! or listen?

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Really enjoyed the book but May be slightly over simplified for those wanting to explore the maths a few layers deeper.

A great listen/read

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