Have you ever wondered why a rainbow is curved? Or why left-handers aren't extinct? How a sunflower is like a synchronised swimmer, or a lightning bolt is like a blood vessel? The answer to all these questions and more can be summed up in one simple word: MATHS. As the inimitable Eddie Woo explains, maths is not just about numbers. Maths is about patterns, and our universe is extraordinarily patterned. With enthusiasm and wonder, Eddie is here to help us discover these patterns. With engaging clarity and entertaining anecdotes, Eddie demonstrates the intricacy of maths in all the things we love - from music in our iPods to our credit cards. Filled with humour and heart, this book will fascinate, entertain and illuminate the maths that surrounds us. This is a specially formatted fixed layout ebook that retains the look and feel of the print book. LONGLISTED FOR THE ABIA GENERAL NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 PRAISE FOR EDDIE WOO "I never thought I'd read a maths book cover to cover, let alone sing its praises. Eddie Woo makes maths fun, accessible and relevant. Now we can all benefit from his extraordinary skill as a teacher." JENNY BROCKIE, journalist and TV host "Not just a great teacher, Woo's Wonderful World of Maths shows Eddie to be a storyteller too. Is there anything the Woo cannot do?" ADAM SPENCER, Ambassador for Mathematics, University of Sydney

With wit, colour and clarity, What A Wonderful World quickly and painlessly brings us up to speed on how the world of the 21st century works. From economics to physics and biology to philosophy, Marcus Chown explains the complex forces that shape our universe. Why do we breathe? What is money? How does the brain work? Why did life invent sex? Does time really exist? How does capitalism work - or not, as the case may be? Where do mountains come from? How do computers work? How did humans get to dominate the Earth? Why is there something rather than nothing? In What a Wonderful World, Marcus Chown, bestselling author of Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You and the Solar System app, uses his vast scientific knowledge and deep understanding of extremely complex processes to answer simple questions about the workings of our everyday lives. Lucid, witty and hugely entertaining, it explains the basics of our essential existence, stopping along the way to show us why the Atlantic is widening by a thumbs' length each year, how money permits trade to time travel why the crucial advantage humans had over Neanderthals was sewing and why we are all living in a giant hologram.

2021 Mathical Honor Book Why aren’t left-handers extinct? What makes a rainbow round? How is a pancreas . . . like a pendulum? Publisher's note: It's a Numberful World was published in Australia under the title Woo's Wonderful World of Maths. These may not look like math questions, but they are—because they all have to do with patterns. And mathematics, at heart, is the study of patterns. That realization changed Eddie Woo’s life—by turning the “dry” subject he dreaded in high school into a boundless quest for discovery. Now an award-winning math teacher, Woo sees patterns everywhere: in the “branches” of blood vessels and lightning, in the growth of a savings account and a sunflower, even in his morning cup of tea! Here are twenty-six bite-size chapters on the hidden mathematical marvels that encrypt our email, enchant our senses, and even keep us alive—from the sine waves we hear as “music” to the mysterious golden ratio. This book will change your mind about what math can be. We are all born mathematicians—and It’s a Numberful World.

The world of maths can seem mind-boggling, irrelevant and, let's face it, boring. This groundbreaking book reclaims maths from the geeks. Mathematical ideas underpin just about everything in our lives: from the surprising geometry of the 50p piece to how probability can help you win in any casino. In search of weird and wonderful mathematical phenomena, Alex Bellos travels across the globe and meets the world's fastest mental calculators in Germany and a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan. Packed with fascinating, eye-opening anecdotes, Alex's Adventures in Numberland is an exhilarating cocktail of history, reportage and mathematical proofs that will leave you awestruck.

A number book like no other, introducing children to the significance of different numbers and the things they are associated with. Did you know that an octopus has 3 hearts, every snowflake has 6 points, giraffes have 7 bone in their necks, cloud cover is measure in 'oktas' from 0 to 8, and that 9 is lucky in China (but unlucky in Japan)? An unusual approach to a numbers book and a gorgeous and slightly eccentric illustration style will make this title stand out in a crowded retail environment. By the team who worked together on the acclaimed My First 100 Words Book, Count to 100 and the award-winning Big Book of Colours (winner of the School Library Association's Under 7 Children's Choice Award 2016). An effortless and enjoyable way for children to learn about topics as diverse as fractions, counting, shapes, measuring, music, dates, animals, space, sports, geography and mythology through the magic of numbers.