Matt Parker is an math educator and a stand-up comedian. In this book he talks about several ways math errors have caused problems in history. The book is divided into sections dealing with similar kinds of math errors such as round off error, coding errors, dividing by zero, errors caused by different units of measurement and others. It sounds terribly dull, but the book is actually very entertaining. All week as I was listening to the book I was sharing funny stories with anyone who would listen. Sometimes, of course, math errors have caused tragic loss of life, and Parker is sensitive to that. He uses those stories as cautionary tales. Many of the stories, however, caused inconveniences, and huge expenses, but no death. The audiobook is narrated by the author and he does a good job communicating the delight he finds in uncovering and figuring out the most outrageous historic math mistakes. I mostly picked this book because I am married to a math professor, but I think it would have wide appeal to people who like humorous nonfiction. (2020, 336 p)
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