Key insights from
Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else
Audio available
12 minute read
Published May 25, 2021
What you'll learn
Abstract mathematics seems meaningless in a reality that’s strange enough as it is. As society grapples with the more immediate concerns of everyday life, the endless coordinates of geometric space appear pointless—or, so we might think. Algebraic geometer Jordan Ellenberg applies the seemingly esoteric fields of geometry and topology to everyday issues, topics that range from the United States election process to current public health concerns. Math might not be as extraneous as it seems, and its shapes and numbers might influence our lives powerfully.
Key insights
- • What you'll learn
- 1 Lincoln, Wordsworth, and Hobbes reveled in Euclid—the analytical flow of his proofs was nearly entrancing.
- 2 If you thought geometry class was simply too normal, consider taking a course on the wriggling world of topology.
- 3 Geometrical symmetry defies the lines of shapes and stretches into the everyday.
- 4 Differential equations play a role in pandemic outcomes—you might want to keep an eye on COVID’s R0.
- 5 Gerrymandering is a disparaging reality, but geometry might draw more precise geography.
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