Thinking In Numbers, Daniel Tammet
Thinking In Numbers, Daniel Tammet
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Thinking In Numbers
On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math

Author: Daniel Tammet

Narrator: Daniel Tammet

Unabridged: 9 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/30/2013

Synopsis

The irresistibly engaging book that "enlarges one's wonder at Tammet's mind and his all-embracing vision of the world as grounded in numbers" (Oliver Sacks, MD).

Thinking in Numbers is the book that Daniel Tammet, mathematical savant and bestselling author, was born to write. In Tammet's world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes, everyday examples, and ruminations on history, literature, and more, Tammet allows us to share his unique insights and delight in the way numbers, fractions, and equations underpin all our lives.

Inspired variously by the complexity of snowflakes, Anne Boleyn's eleven fingers, and his many siblings, Tammet explores questions such as why time seems to speed up as we age, whether there is such a thing as an average person, and how we can make sense of those we love. His provocative and inspiring new book will change the way you think about math and fire your imagination to view the world with fresh eyes.

About Daniel Tammet

Daniel Tammet grew up in London and briefly taught English as a second language in Lithuania. He has been extensively studied at California's Center for Brain Studies and at the Cambridge Autism Research Centre. Today he lives with his partner Neil in Southeast England, and raises money for charities to help people with neurological disorders.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kara on June 08, 2013

I can’t resist picking up mathy books when I’m in a bookstore. As a mathematician, I love broadening my knowledge about the field—and seeing what passes for “popular mathematics” these days. Thinking in Numbers is a slim volume that promises to “change the way you think about maths and fire your ima......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on September 11, 2013

When it comes to math and numbers, generally speaking, I am not a fan. I'm a word girl. And yet, in THINKING IN NUMBERS, Daniel Tammet has found a way to help me appreciate the complexity, the magic and, yes, even the beauty he sees in numbers. Early on in this book of essays, Tammet put math into t......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on June 30, 2015

Speechless. So here are some quotes. Epigraph: "Like all great rationalists you believed in things that were twice as incredible as theology." ~Halldor Laxness "the play between numerical concepts saturates the way we experience the world." (xvii) "Like works of literature, mathematical ideas help expa......more

Goodreads review by Rupert on August 12, 2014

This is a philosophy book, a psychology book, an autobiography and a history book. But ultimately it's not a maths book, despite what the cover claims. Sure, it dabbles in numbers and multiplication somewhat, but nothing beyond basic primary school level. I'm all for encouraging learning in areas whe......more

Goodreads review by James on July 15, 2015

Interesting and poetic. Caveat: much of this book is about numbers, but very little of it is about math. Its main value is the insight it offers into the author's differently-functioning brain. I'm unable to quit without mentioning that the author fell into a couple of mathematical errors. The first......more

Quotes

"Wonderful essays. Admirers of Tammet's Born on a Blue Day and Embracing the Wide Sky will find here fresh reasons to laud the author's gifts." --Booklist (starred review)

"A delightful, diverse collection of essays. Great fun and the perfect gift for any math-phobic person, young or old." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Tammet is a master of gleaning profound insights from seemingly mundane trivia....This is a delightful book." --Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed review)

"Autistic savant Daniel Tammet talks numbers, and he does so with evident inspiration and awe. Whether or not readers consider themselves mathematically inclined, they will be enthralled. Tammet enlivens his discussion of numbers with engaging personal components...that render his book a delightful read for a broader audience. This book will charm just about anyone, but will absolutely captivate sci-tech readers with an interest in mathematics." --LibraryJournal (starred review)

"Born on a Blue Day introduced us to the extraordinary phenomenon of Daniel Tammet, and Thinking in Numbers enlarges one's wonder at Tammet's mind and his all-embracing vision of the world as grounded in numbers." --Oliver Sacks, MD

"A engrossing blend of autobiography, mathematical theory, and 'what if' speculations, Daniel Tammet's essays allow us to see the world through the lens of numbers. The result is fascinating, even dizzying series of fresh perspectives on things we thought we knew." --Billy Collins

"Thinking in Numbers is a mind-expanding, kinetic aesthetic experience. My mind shot off the page, spurred to see universal patterns very much alive in everything from the natural world we share to how imagery and metaphor occur in my own creative process. Tammet's poetic mathematics are beautiful guideposts for thinking about life and even love. As I read, I found myself saying, 'Yes, this is true, and this is true, and this is so true...' " --Amy Tan

"Always informative, always entertaining, Daniel Tammet never loses his respect for the mystery of the universe of number." --J. M. Coetzee

"Intriguing, provocative - to wrestle with numbers in this way is an adventure." --Lydia Davis, author of The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

"How many mathematicians are dazzling storytellers as well? As it turns out, numbers lend themselves powerfully to the realm of narrative, and no explorer of this region is more innovative than Daniel Tammet. What a joy to read an author whose dexterity with digits is matched by his wisdom with words." --David Eagleman, PhD, neuroscientist, author of Incognito and Sum

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