Love Triangle - by Matt Parker (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

An ode to triangles, the shape that makes our lives possible

Trigonometry is perhaps the most essential concept humans have ever devised. The simple yet versatile triangle allows us to record music, map the world, launch rockets into space, and be slightly less bad at pool. Triangles underpin our day-to-day lives and civilization as we know it.

In Love Triangle, Matt Parker argues we should all show a lot more love for triangles, along with all the useful trigonometry and geometry they enable. To prove his point, he uses triangles to create his own digital avatar, survive a harrowing motorcycle ride, cut a sandwich, fall in love, measure tall buildings in a few awkward bounds, and make some unusual art. Along the way, he tells extraordinary and entertaining stories of the mathematicians, engineers, and philosophers--starting with Pythagoras--who dared to take triangles seriously.

This is the guide you should have had in high school--a lively and definitive answer to "Why do I need to learn about trigonometry?" Parker reveals triangles as the hidden pattern beneath the surface of the contemporary world. Like love, triangles actually are all around. And in the air. And they're all you need.

Review Quotes

"A funny and often surprising guide to the history of triangles--and the applications (both practical and highly impractical) of trigonometry." --Tim Harford, Financial Times

"Amid all the funny, Love Triangle provides a wondrous refresher course for anyone feeling nostalgically trig curious. It's hardly a textbook, but a teacher could easily triangulate numerous fascinating and fun lesson plans from this edifying volume." --The Wall Street Journal

"A rare book about math sure to make you smile, despite your feelings about the subject. Once again, Parker measures up." --Kirkus Reviews

"Fascinating, funny and far-reaching." --BookPage

"Parker has a fine old time with his material, and only a curmudgeon could fail to be charmed." --The Telegraph (UK)

"Matt Parker has made me laugh about math many times by showing just how weird it can get. He's also made me cry about math by showing how transcendently beautiful it is." --Adam Savage, MythBusters co-host and author of Every Tool's a Hammer

"Love Triangle is a blissful blend of pure science and pure merriment. Edifying, entertaining, excellent!" --Alex James, food writer and Blur bass player

"Fine. Triangles are now my favorite shape." --Hannah Fry, author of Hello World

About the Author

Matt Parker is a stand-up comedian and a YouTuber with over one hundred million views. He is the author of the international bestseller Humble Pi and Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension. Matt is also frequently seen, heard, and read on the Science Channel, on BBC radio, and in The Guardian, in that order. He has previously held world records for both the Rubik's Cube and Space Invaders. In the pursuit of math, Matt has: flipped a coin 10,000 times, traveled to Antarctica, memorized π to hundreds of digits, and been bitten by a bullet ant in the Amazon rainforest. Matt has given math lectures at Cambridge University, Oxford University, Harvard University, and Lake Monger Primary School.