Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day

An interesting account of the use of numbers in our time and in earlier times. It really didn't tell me anything new. but was nevertheless interesting and I think important for those persons who are unversed in the subtleties of mathematics.

OK

Very prompt service. Bought it as a gift for my dad. He's 83, a little forgetful but still enjoys remembering and reminiscing school days so I thought he might enjoy relearning a few things.

The presentation of the material leaves something to be desired in this book. It jumps around too much with a disjointed feel poorly written. Nope...don't trouble yourself.

This is a very entertaining book, and it is sure to generate a lot of conversations.

One of my favorite subjects at school is Math so Easy As Pi was great to read. I really learned a lot of new stuff about numbers and not just in relation to math but also in fiction, culture and religion (the book dedicates a chapter for each of these and all nicely organized) that I heard in passing but don't really know the meaning of. For example, I now know the meaning behind the movie title 8 Mile (it's a road in Detroit that provides a socio-economic divide between rich and the poor of the city). But my favorite part of this book will have to be the "Numbers in Mythology and Religion" section. In particular, I really enjoyed trying out numerology thing. The author explains how numerology is used to make ideas and theorize numbers and he tells how you to assign each letter in the alphabet with the numbers 1-9. Then, you match the letters in your name to the numbers and keep adding them up until you come up with a single digit number. That number's meaning supposedly tells you your personality. I tried this out with my name and I got the number 2 which means "duality, division, cooperation." Hmm... this is true, I guess, because there are times I'm torn between two things and I act in different ways around different sets of people. Anyway, I also really like when the book talks about the different zodiacs--again, zodiacs were something I've heard about but never really understood and now I know more about it! I thought the book was organized well with a table of contents for the different sections and with the page number for each separate topic that falls under the section. Everything was really easy to find and I didn't have to flip pages. There were these cute little illustrations too and I really like that a few were there to provide a nice visual and explain a topic clearer. To sum it up, I really liked this book. It has a lot of interesting information, all explained well (though a couple were a little confusing) and I learned a lot. And though I know this, it all the more made me realize that there are more to numbers than the math we learn in school. This is a book I'm going to come back to once in a while just to flip through and re-read a few of my favorite sections. 4.5 out of 5 stars Reviewed by Leslie [We received this book from FSB Media for review.]

Are you numerophobic? Remember high school Algebra..."When am I ever gonna use this stuff?" Ha! Weren't you surprised the first time you had to paint a room and had to use an algebraic equation to figure out how much paint to buy? Or maybe you were figuring how much floorcovering you needed when you realized, "Oh...axb=x (square feet)." Numbers are persistently with us. Having a cup of coffee? Do you need 1/16th of a cup of grounds to brew it? Nearly everything we do involves numbers (How many times does your heart beat per minute? How far is it from the couch to the refrigerator?); there are even those who believe everything in existence can be reduced to a numeric value. When we are not formulating and figuring, numbers (and language influenced by numbers) are still part of our culture, communications, and unspoken thoughts. "Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day," written by Jamie Buchan, is a guide to how invasive numbers are. Published by Readers Digest Books, "Easy as Pi" reveals the meanings and origins of phrases employing numbers (7th Heaven, the whole nine yards, three sheets to the wind), examines numbers in fiction (Fahrenheit 451, Catch 22, Se7en, 12 Monkeys) and culture ("The 10 Percent Myth," "555," "Numbers Games"), and discusses the role of numbers in Mythology, Religion, Science, and Mathematics. Fans of crime shows may already know that a "10-10" is a fight in progress and a "10-57" is a hit and run, but for those of us who aren't fluent in 10-code "Easy as Pi" divulges some of the "more interesting" codes. Chapters on numerology and astrology (as well as a segment on "666") are included, as are explanations of the binary code, statistics, infinity, and--everyone's favorite--"The Infinite Monkey Theorem." "Easy as Pi" is an amusing, enlightening look at how dependent we are on numbers to express ideas, meet our needs, and live our lives. It's a great book for collectors of trivia, and an excellent gift for the mathematically-disinclined, those suffering from math anxiety, and the arithmophobic.