Weirder Maths

Since there is something rather than nothing, could nothing exist?

Can you make the perfect labyrinth?

Does a quantum event have to be observed before it's 'real'?

Just when you thought things couldn't get any stranger, David Darling and Agnijo Banerjee's journey into the mathematical wilderness reveals 'bubble maths' has been studied since the second century, the counterintuitive world of quantum can be described perfectly by mathematics and the idea that maths and art couldn't be further apart is utter nonsense.

From centuries-old conundrums to eccentric geniuses like Évariste Galois (he failed the entrance exams at École Polytechnique twice because he couldn't explain how he'd arrived at his correct answers) to how the strangest maths connects to the everyday, Darling and Banerjee transform the bewildering into the beautiful, delighting us once again.

About the Authors

David Darling 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.

Agnijo Banerjee was born in Kolkata, India, but has spent most of his life in Scotland. His extraordinary mathematical talents were recognised at an early age. In 2018 he came joint first in the International Mathematical Olympiad, recording a perfect score and affirming his status as one of the world's most outstanding young mathematicians.