Basic Books In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World

I've read quite a few chapters. I think it does cover 17 very important equations (especially for myself as an engineer). I think that technical books have to suit a person's existing knowledge, and this book seems to suit me very well. I find it generally very well written. It is clear (it does a very good job of explaining the equations in words), and has a very good blend of history, technical explanation and examples. I find it enjoyable and educational. The fact that it is written by an experienced, world renowned mathematician adds to my confidence in the book. At over 300 pages with some useful black and white figures, I think it is very good value for money (it is also very well laid out and accessible). It can be read from cover-to-cover, but each chapter can stand alone, so the book can be used for reference purposes.

This is a great read for the numerate but gets a bit technical for those less mathematically inclined. It is not a book for those not comfortable with mathematics and formulae.All in all I found this a solid read covering a lot of ground. I recommend it for a technical overview of the important equations over history and I enjoyed it.My only complaint is the last chapter which comes across largely as a rant against financial services and investment management. Stewart goes off topic and outside of his expertise in a meandering and unfocused way. I have no issue with bashing the banks for unreasonable risks taken and unreasonable reliance on mathematical models in a less predictable (fat tailed) behavioral world, but this chapter goes about this in a very weak manner and is off topic.So get the book if you are interested in the equations that changed the world, but skip the last chapter if you already know that bankers take stupid risks (because of the reward structures) and are over reliant on unrealistic models!

When learning Maths at secondary school in the UK, one learns theorems, equations, mathematical methods, learns how to apply them, answers questions on them in class and in exams and stops there. Maths done. Finished.Ian Stewart sees this gap between the Maths people know and the uses of this Maths both historically and in our present-day societies. An example is his chapter on logarithms. Many have heard of logarithms and know the basic logarithmic rules of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. What Stewart does, as he does with the other 16 equations, formulas and mathematical ideas, is to give the historical development of logarithms, describes how they function, describe how they are useful and describes their various important applications in our daily lives.Stewart is a great ambassador for Maths and has done a great deal to make the subject seem less stuffy and more approachable to the reader. If students were introduced to the applications, meanings and ideas behind the Maths they are taught at school at an earlier age via Stewart's book then maybe there would be a greater passion developed amongst adolescents to study it further and realise its importance in understanding the world around us.

I am a big fan of Ian Stewart's books and I really looked forward to reading this particular book. it does highlight some important features of the 17 equations which is helpful. However, I didn't find it very exciting which is unlike Ian Stewart's books for me. Its very verbose and certain concepts should have been explained using maths rather than writing essays.

I am a middle aged man who has recently started studying maths for GCE. I found myself learning mathematical ideas and concepts such as logarithms but not really having any idea what they actually are used for or where they came from. This is where this book comes in! I now know how they were developed and why. It breathes life into the equations by giving them purpose and historical context which has inspired me to keep learning and has vastly improved my understanding of them. This happens for lots of topics such as pythagoras , calculus ,complex numbers and chaos theory to name a few. So even if you are a student with little time on your hands for 'reading around a subject' like I always was I would definitely recommend this book to provide inspiration!