HarperCollins India presents Weird Maths: At the Edge of Infinity and Beyond by David Darling and Agnijo Banerjee

presents a landmark book on mathematics

Weird Maths: At the Edge of Infinity and Beyond

by

David Darling and Agnijo Banerjee

 

The first book by Agnijo, a global maths prodigy of Indian origin and his tutor David Darling. The most fascinating mathematical ideas, presented in a form that anyone can appreciate.

Explores the cutting edge of modern maths and delves into fascinating questions that include:

Is anything truly random? Does infinity actually exist?

Can maths help us understand chaos?

Can chess be solved with maths?

If there are aliens and if they play music, would we like it?

Weird Maths is a lively, accessible, fun book about mathematics, the maths that is all around us, that defines us, our intelligence, our curiosity. Agnijo has a particular interest in areas of maths that developed in India, most notably number theory. In the Weird Maths series, he has written about the origins of zero and the mathematics of chess, both of which have strong Indian connections, and the life and achievements of great Indian mathematicians, such as Brahmagupta and Ramanujan. One of his greatest fascinations is with large numbers, a topic that has ancient Indian roots in texts such as Lalitavistara Sutra and Avatamsaka Sutra, and that is dealt with in a chapter of Weird Maths called ‘The Biggest Number of All’.

Packed with puzzles and paradoxes, mind-bending concepts and surprising solutions, Weird Maths is a book for anyone who is interested in maths or in popular science.

AUTHOR BIO

Agnijo Banerjee is a child prodigy of Indian origin – he has an IQ of 162, the highest a human can have (the same IQ as Einstein’s and Stephen Hawking’s). He took Higher Maths in his first year of secondary school, scoring 99%, the following year he passed the Mensa test scoring the maximum possible IQ for the test of 162, and in his third year scored 100% in Advanced Higher Maths. More recently he has taken part in international maths competitions, such as the Balkan Mathematics Olympiad in May 2018, as part of the six-member British team. Later this year, Agnijo starts his maths degree at Trinity College, Cambridge, where so many great mathematicians of the past have studied and taught, including Srinivasa Ramanujan. Weird Maths is his first book, co-written with his tutor David Darling.

David was born in Glossop, Derbyshire and has a PhD in astronomy from the University of Manchester. For the past 35 years, he has been a freelance science writer and is the author of nearly 50 books on subjects such as cosmology, physics, philosophy, and mathematics. His website, The Worlds of David Darling, has been a widely used online resource for the past 20 years. He also tutors students in maths and physics and this how he first met Agnijo at the age of 13.

For interviews, reviews and excerpts please call or email:

+91 8826946430 Percy.bharucha@harpercollins-india.com

Demy/PB | Non-Fiction | 288 pp | Rs 499