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001			23025638
003			OSt
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008			230318s2023 nyua b 001 0 eng
010			_a 2022050481
020			_z9781541601840 _q(ebook) _a9781788169530 (Pbk)
040			_aLBSOR _beng _erda _cIISERB
042			_apcc
050	0	0	_aQA8.4 _b.C436 2023
082	0	0	_a510.1 C421T _223/eng20230509
100	1		_aCheng, Eugenia. _931547
245	1	0	_aIs math real? : _bhow simple questions lead us to mathematics' deepest truths / _cEugenia Cheng.
260			_aLondon: _bProfile Books Ltd., _c2024.
300			_a328 pages : _billustrations ; _c25 cm
500			_a"Published in 2023 in the UK by Profile Books."
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0		_aWhere maths comes from -- How maths works -- Why we do math -- What makes maths good -- Letter -- Formulae -- Pictures -- Stories.
520			_a"Where does math come from? From a textbook? From rules? From deduction? From logic? Not really, Eugenia Cheng writes in Is Math Real?: it comes from curiosity, from instinctive human curiosity, "from people not being satisfied with answers and always wanting to understand more." And most importantly, she says, "it comes from questions": not from answering them, but from posing them. Nothing could seem more at odds from the way most of us were taught math: a rigid and autocratic model which taught us to follow specific steps to reach specific answers. Instead of encouraging a child who asks why 1+1 is 2, our methods of education force them to accept it. Instead of exploring why we multiply before we add, a textbook says, just to get on with the order of operations. Indeed, the point is usually just about getting the right answer, and those that are good at that, become "good at math" while those who question, are not. And that's terrible: These very same questions, as Cheng shows, aren't simply annoying questions coming from people who just don't "get it" and so can't do math. Rather, they are what drives mathematical research and push the boundaries in our understanding of all things. Legitimizing those questions, she invites everyone in, whether they think they are good at math or not. And by highlighting the development of mathematics outside Europe, Cheng shows that-western chauvinism notwithstanding--that math can be for anyone who wishes to do it, and how much we gain when anyone can"--
650		0	_aMathematics _xPhilosophy. _931548
650		0	_aMathematics _vPopular works. _931549
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