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K.C Cole

The Universe and the Teacup

Mathematics is vital part of all of our lives, but many people try to hide from this fact - they find the subject too indimidating to accept. In The Universe and the Teacup K.C. Cole provides an easy to read account of how maths relates to everyday life. She looks at many different issues, such as how the size of an object affects its physical behaviour, our perception of risk, and fairness in different methods of voting. The final chapter looks at the work of Emmy Noether and the applications of symmetry to physics.

Early in the book Cole tells us about a woman who spent a day at the San Francisco Exploratorium, and gained enough confidence in her understanding of things to go home and wire a lamp. One might hope that this book would give people a similar confidence to follow up mathematical questions. However, I rather doubt it. The work doesn't have sufficient depth to fully engage the reader - it seems to jump from one topic to another. At the least I feel it should have suggestions for follow up reading for each chapter. So it's fine as light reading, but don't expect too much from the book.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 224 pages
ISBN: 0156006561
Salesrank: 201835
Weight:0.6 lbs

Published: 1999 Harvest Books

Amazon price $10.20

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 234 pages
ISBN: 0349111197
Salesrank: 387388
Weight:0.44 lbs

Published: 1999 Abacus

Marketplace:New from £8.19:Used from £1.45

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 224 pages
ISBN: 0156006561
Salesrank: 382133
Weight:0.6 lbs

Published: 2001 Harcourt Trade Publishers

Amazon price CDN$ 12.37

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 7.72:Used from CDN$ 0.78

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Product Description
Mathematics, that breathtaking invention of ours that reveals the tiniest particles of matter and takes us to the outermost reaches of the cosmos, is found by many people to be intimidating. In The Universe and the Teacup, K. C. Cole demystifies mathematics and shows us-with humor and wonderfully accessible stories-why math need not be frightening. Using the O. J. Simpson trial, the bell curve, and Emmy Noether, the nineteenth-century woman scientist whose work was essential for Einstein's theory of relativity, Cole helps us see that more than just being a tool, math is a key to understanding the beauty of everything from rainbows to relativity.

Product Description

Mathematics, that breathtaking invention of ours that reveals the tiniest particles of matter and takes us to the outermost reaches of the cosmos, is found by many people to be intimidating. In The Universe and the Teacup, K. C. Cole demystifies mathematics and shows us-with humor and wonderfully accessible stories-why math need not be frightening. Using the O. J. Simpson trial, the bell curve, and Emmy Noether, the nineteenth-century woman scientist whose work was essential for Einstein's theory of relativity, Cole helps us see that more than just being a tool, math is a key to understanding the beauty of everything from rainbows to relativity.

What were you thinking? This is a GREAT book! *****
Three stars? For a book that was a best seller from LA to Taiwan, and is an absolute delight? Beloved of physicists and teachers across the country? Clearly, politics has tainted many of the comments. Yes, Cole is a liberal--but then, so are many scientists... and for a good reason! This is a five star book if there ever was one.

What were you thinking? This is a GREAT book! *****

Three stars? For a book that was a best seller from LA to Taiwan, and is an absolute delight? Beloved of physicists and teachers across the country? Clearly, politics has tainted many of the comments. Yes, Cole is a liberal--but then, so are many scientists... and for a good reason! This is a five star book if there ever was one.

Worthless *
Expounds some sort of "new age" mathematics where clarity, accuracy and consistency are evidently unwelcome. Perhaps this was intended to make the result non-threatening, but it is neither beautiful nor useful. It will go down in history -- with luck, leaving not a trace.

Worthless *

Expounds some sort of "new age" mathematics where clarity,
accuracy and consistency are evidently unwelcome. Perhaps
this was intended to make the result non-threatening, but it
is neither beautiful nor useful.

It will go down in history -- with luck, leaving not a trace.

The Leonardo da Vinci of science writing! *****
That's a direct quote from Amazon, and boy, were they right. Only Cole would link the O.J. Simpson trial to the discovery of the top quark in order to explain various roads to truth. The best part is the relationship between beauty and truth, in which she explains the unexplainable--showing how Einstein's theories (and in fact, all modern physics) is based on the notion of symmetry. But there's also so much less etheral food for thought here: the geometry of fairness, for example!

The Leonardo da Vinci of science writing! *****

That's a direct quote from Amazon, and boy, were they right. Only Cole would link the O.J. Simpson trial to the discovery of the top quark in order to explain various roads to truth. The best part is the relationship between beauty and truth, in which she explains the unexplainable--showing how Einstein's theories (and in fact, all modern physics) is based on the notion of symmetry. But there's also so much less etheral food for thought here: the geometry of fairness, for example!

what is truth exactly *****
Being disenchanted with religion, I picked up this and other books in search of some other kind of truth. I do feel as though after reading this book I have a much better understanding of what 'truth' is and what it's not. I think those who nit-pick about their claims of little discrepancies in the book are really missing out on the bigger picture. The book is full of interesting little facts and factoids but the interesting thing to me was to see how she's pulled together these common insights that are gained from so many fields of study. I think this was just about my favorite book ever.

what is truth exactly *****

Being disenchanted with religion, I picked up this and other books in search of some other kind of truth. I do feel as though after reading this book I have a much better understanding of what 'truth' is and what it's not. I think those who nit-pick about their claims of little discrepancies in the book are really missing out on the bigger picture. The book is full of interesting little facts and factoids but the interesting thing to me was to see how she's pulled together these common insights that are gained from so many fields of study. I think this was just about my favorite book ever.

So many better choices out there. **
Chapter two, second paragraph: "The Milky Way galaxy contains 200 billion stars..." Chapter two, a few pages later: "Fifteen billion is also more or less the number of stars in the galaxy." Obviously, the number of stars in the galaxy is not precisely known, but we do know that 15 billion and 200 billion are two different things. One of the author's "truths" is self-evidently not true. Purveyors of "truth and beauty", whether scientists, gurus, philosophers, spiritual leaders, or journalists, often regard their subject and their audience far too casually. Here we have a case in point. Perhaps most books contain 'typos' and the miscues inherent to humanity, but here it seems that both the author and the editor were asleep at the wheel, something that needs to be addressed if the book achieves a second printing (and I don't see why that would happen). The subject is truly fascinating; or at least it should be -- the relationship of aesthetics, mathematics, and logic. At the deepest levels of the human intellect's inquiries, the answers are all about a mysterious mathematical beauty. The reality of this escapes most people, which is why the "National Bestseller" heading on the cover of Cole's book intrigued me. Apparently the book has enjoyed a larger readership than most such popularizations. Unfortunately the superficial, disjoined 'newspaper style' of science serves the material poorly. The writing rambles almost aimlessly. The books of many mathematicians and physicists have examined the relationship of reality, reason, mathematics, and aesthetics. Devlin's 'The Language of Mathematics' is very good. Fairly recent works by Penrose, Davies, Rucker, Berlinski, Greene, and others come to mind. Some of these books are far better than others. This volume is one of the others.

So many better choices out there. **

Chapter two, second paragraph: "The Milky Way galaxy contains 200 billion stars..."
Chapter two, a few pages later: "Fifteen billion is also more or less the number of stars in the galaxy." Obviously, the number of stars in the galaxy is not precisely known, but we do know that 15 billion and 200 billion are two different things. One of the author's "truths" is self-evidently not true. Purveyors of "truth and beauty", whether scientists, gurus, philosophers, spiritual leaders, or journalists, often regard their subject and their audience far too casually. Here we have a case in point. Perhaps most books contain 'typos' and the miscues inherent to humanity, but here it seems that both the author and the editor were asleep at the wheel, something that needs to be addressed if the book achieves a second printing (and I don't see why that would happen).
The subject is truly fascinating; or at least it should be -- the relationship of aesthetics, mathematics, and logic. At the deepest levels of the human intellect's inquiries, the answers are all about a mysterious mathematical beauty. The reality of this escapes most people, which is why the "National Bestseller" heading on the cover of Cole's book intrigued me. Apparently the book has enjoyed a larger readership than most such popularizations. Unfortunately the superficial, disjoined 'newspaper style' of science serves the material poorly. The writing rambles almost aimlessly. The books of many mathematicians and physicists have examined the relationship of reality, reason, mathematics, and aesthetics. Devlin's 'The Language of Mathematics' is very good. Fairly recent works by Penrose, Davies, Rucker, Berlinski, Greene, and others come to mind. Some of these books are far better than others. This volume is one of the others.

Highly recommended *****
Had I relied on the reviews above I would have missed a thoroughly thoughtful and enjoyable book. This book treats difficult concepts in mathematics and physics with admirable simplicity and intellectual curiosity. It highlights the fact that abstract numbers play important practical role in our daily decision-making; that our perceptions are influenced by some deceptive mathematical certainties; that our egos influence the evaluation of risk we undertake. This book even gives some practical examples how to distribute in a fare and impartial way among friends and partners. It highlights the fact that most of our reference points are relative, that idealism and certainty is only in the mind of individuals. Final chapters of this book are about symmetry. I found many beautiful passages from different authors and have learned about a great woman Emmy Noether, who helped A. Einstein in developing mathematical foundation of the RT. It is true that some of the topics are discussed briefly, without much detailed examination. However due to this the scope of the book is kept simple and I found many useful reference books in the bibliography for future reading. Overall, I have spent an enjoyable Christmas with this book and would like to recommend it to anybody who is prepared to challenge his or her fast-held beliefs.

Highly recommended *****

Had I relied on the reviews above I would have missed a thoroughly thoughtful and enjoyable book.

This book treats difficult concepts in mathematics and physics with admirable simplicity and intellectual curiosity. It highlights the fact that abstract numbers play important practical role in our daily decision-making; that our perceptions are influenced by some deceptive mathematical certainties; that our egos influence the evaluation of risk we undertake.

This book even gives some practical examples how to distribute in a fare and impartial way among friends and partners. It highlights the fact that most of our reference points are relative, that idealism and certainty is only in the mind of individuals.

Final chapters of this book are about symmetry. I found many beautiful passages from different authors and have learned about a great woman Emmy Noether, who helped A. Einstein in developing mathematical foundation of the RT.

It is true that some of the topics are discussed briefly, without much detailed examination. However due to this the scope of the book is kept simple and I found many useful reference books in the bibliography for future reading.

Overall, I have spent an enjoyable Christmas with this book and would like to recommend it to anybody who is prepared to challenge his or her fast-held beliefs.

shallow, and the author's chip on her shoulder distracts. *
I seized on this book as another of my favourite genre - popular science. Whilst I struggled through to the end, I was disappointed by the shallowness of the discussions, and thoroughly distracted and put off by the author's [ ] political agenda - so much so I just had to write a review, for the first time ever. KC Cole attempts to cover far too many subjects, which inevitably means that the surface of each can only be scratched. Tackling one or two in a great deal more detail would have produced a much more satisfying book. I would (I hope) be amongst the last to object to anyone's own views on any subject. However, when they crop up in a book like this then the reader is entitled to their views. For instance "Physicists rely on Noether's theorem, even though many have no idea who Noether was or that she was a woman" (just one example from many). I venture to suggest that most physicists rely on all sorts of theorems whilst knowing nothing about the private circumstances of their creators. I would recommend this book only to aspiring authors as an example of how not to write a book on science.

shallow, and the author's chip on her shoulder distracts. *

I seized on this book as another of my favourite genre - popular science. Whilst I struggled through to the end, I was disappointed by the shallowness of the discussions, and thoroughly distracted and put off by the author's [ ] political agenda - so much so I just had to write a review, for the first time ever.

KC Cole attempts to cover far too many subjects, which inevitably means that the surface of each can only be scratched. Tackling one or two in a great deal more detail would have produced a much more satisfying book.

I would (I hope) be amongst the last to object to anyone's own views on any subject. However, when they crop up in a book like this then the reader is entitled to their views. For instance "Physicists rely on Noether's theorem, even though many have no idea who Noether was or that she was a woman" (just one example from many). I venture to suggest that most physicists rely on all sorts of theorems whilst knowing nothing about the private circumstances of their creators.

I would recommend this book only to aspiring authors as an example of how not to write a book on science.

Maths made enjoyable ****
This book brings the amazing world of mathematics to life. If you never enjoyed maths at school, and I certainly didn't, this will change your point of view.

Maths made enjoyable ****

This book brings the amazing world of mathematics to life. If you never enjoyed maths at school, and I certainly didn't, this will change your point of view.

A good book, marred by the author's obvious political agenda ***
I found "The Universe and the Teacup" an enjoyable book, conveying to the average reader the meaning of math and science in our everyday lives. I was, however, disappointed that the author chose to stray from being a serious science writer and instead attempt to use math and science to justify her own political views. Cole takes shots at the Reagan administration, the NRA, and the Republican Party. No attempt for balance is offered by presenting examples from the left side of the political spectrum. She, at times, seems to miss the point of her book, devoting more time and space to the glass ceiling battled by female mathematicians and scientists than she devotes to their work itself.

A good book, marred by the author's obvious political agenda ***

I found "The Universe and the Teacup" an enjoyable book, conveying to the average reader the meaning of math and science in our everyday lives. I was, however, disappointed that the author chose to stray from being a serious science writer and instead attempt to use math and science to justify her own political views. Cole takes shots at the Reagan administration, the NRA, and the Republican Party. No attempt for balance is offered by presenting examples from the left side of the political spectrum. She, at times, seems to miss the point of her book, devoting more time and space to the glass ceiling battled by female mathematicians and scientists than she devotes to their work itself.

Disappointing; other books are better **
I expected more from K.C. Cole; she's an excellent general science writer for the L.A. Times, but she comes up short in this book. This book is clearly trying to bring an appreciation of math to general readers, but she does no better than to say "Look at that over there; if you understand it, it's really neat" -- but without trying to give you any sense of what's neat. By contrast, I highly recommend "The Language of Mathematics : Making the Invisible Visible" by Keith J. Devlin. Devlin not only points out what is interesting, but provides enough depth to give you a fleeting glimpse of the way mathematicians see math.

Disappointing; other books are better **

I expected more from K.C. Cole; she's an excellent general science writer for the L.A. Times, but she comes up short in this book. This book is clearly trying to bring an appreciation of math to general readers, but she does no better than to say "Look at that over there; if you understand it, it's really neat" -- but without trying to give you any sense of what's neat.

By contrast, I highly recommend "The Language of Mathematics : Making the Invisible Visible" by Keith J. Devlin. Devlin not only points out what is interesting, but provides enough depth to give you a fleeting glimpse of the way mathematicians see math.

how to write a book in five minutes *
Should it be that easy to write a book? Collect all the bits and pieces from newspapers' weekend-supplements and almost scientific coffeetable-talk and toss in some currently fashionable phrases concerning physics and mathematics, stir until the lumps have disappeared and do not bother with the spices of explanation and insight. If you love math and physics, stay off !

how to write a book in five minutes *

Should it be that easy to write a book? Collect all the bits and pieces from newspapers' weekend-supplements and almost scientific coffeetable-talk and toss in some currently fashionable phrases concerning physics and mathematics, stir until the lumps have disappeared and do not bother with the spices of explanation and insight. If you love math and physics, stay off !

Neither Math Nor Physics *
It is tough even for the most learned to become proficient in both mathematics and physics. Adding the ability to organize thoughts well, and illustrate them clearly by example is a talent reserved for a very few.... Unfortunately, K.C. Cole is not that person. Her book is a random walk through the mysteries of both technologies, much too often poorly stated, if not entirely wrong. From the first page to the last, she seems to be as befudled as the layperson. Richard Feynman in his later years took issue with the misconceptions that are being put into the textbooks for school children. Too bad that this award winning book is no better at getting the facts straight.

Neither Math Nor Physics *

It is tough even for the most learned to become proficient in both mathematics and physics. Adding the ability to organize thoughts well, and illustrate them clearly by example is a talent reserved for a very few....

Unfortunately, K.C. Cole is not that person. Her book is a random walk through the mysteries of both technologies, much too often poorly stated, if not entirely wrong. From the first page to the last, she seems to be as befudled as the layperson. Richard Feynman in his later years took issue with the misconceptions that are being put into the textbooks for school children. Too bad that this award winning book is no better at getting the facts straight.