Blueprints - by Marcus Du Sautoy (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An Oxford mathematician, playwright, and musician reveals how creative people can harness the profound and productive relationship between mathematics and the arts

When Shakespeare has the Three Witches cast Macbeth's lot, he uses something very weird to do it: not simply "eye of newt and toe of frog," but the number seven. And when Hamlet claims, "To be or not to be, that is the question," Shakespeare reaches for eleven. For Shakespeare, prime numbers were magical. And he is not alone.

As Marcus du Sautoy showcases in Blueprints, creativity is inseparable from mathematics. The designs of Le Corbusier and Leonardo; the music of Glass, Bach, and Debussy; the wild visions of Dali, the choreography of Laban, the animation of Pixar--all are shot through with mathematics, from primes and fractals to the weirder worlds of Hamiltonian cycles and hyperbolic geometry. And Du Sautoy argues that the relationship runs both ways. Just as mathematics inspires new art, the artistic mindset is a necessity for discovering new mathematics.

Blueprints will expand your mind, but more importantly, it shows how to ignite your imagination. Anyone who wants to create needs this book.

Review Quotes

"Readers of Blueprints will come away with a deeper understanding of art, and a greater appreciation for maths." --Prospect

"[A] constantly surprising [read] in its determination to show us that works of art we love are 'often pieces of mathematics in disguise'." --Daily Mail

"Blueprints sings as a book about maths that is also grounded in art. Du Sautoy is skilled at bringing numerical concepts to life ... I left it better understanding, and enjoying, the problems pondered by mathematicians, helped by the creations of artists like J.S. Bach and Jorge Luis Borges."--New Scientist

"No one could doubt Du Sautoy's enthusiasm for his subject ... In this informed and wide-ranging study, he shows that imagination is not the preserve of the artistically inclined - sometimes the so-called nerds are the cool kids with the brilliant ideas ... An invigorating read."--Observer

"One of the many strengths of Blueprints is that it is partly a memoir: an accomplished musician and longtime collaborator with theatrical companies, du Sautoy is exploring the harmonies and convergences within his own passions. The effect is infectious, as is to be expected from one of our most important public intellectuals. A book that will transform your appreciation of mathematics and art."--New European

"Du Sautoy is [...] the light-bearer, illuminating not only the work of coders and creators, but the mathematics of chaos that underpin art and our emotional responses to it."--Hans Ulrich Obrist, author of Ways of Curating

"Marcus makes it seem so easy, and such fun, to begin to understand that which appears complex, frightening and beautiful, and the magic of being human."--Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline

"A stunning book - filled with insights and connections that are as dazzling as they are unexpected. A thrilling read."--Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

About the Author

Marcus du Sautoy is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford and a fellow of New College and of the Royal Society. He has presented on numerous radio and TV series, including the BBC's The Story of Maths, and is also a playwright. He lives in London.