Applied Combinatorial Mathematics Book

Before we start with the review, let's take a moment to appreciate how good of a science communicator Ian Stewart is.

Now on with the nitty gritty.

When faced with accepting Quantum Mechanics, Einstein famously said: "God does not play dice with the universe", to which Stephen Hawking wittily replied: "Not only does God play, but he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen". Quantum Mechanics, you see, cannot be handled with simple every day linear mathematics. Instead we attempt to explain it using probability. The reason behind this is chaos.

Chaos may not be apparent in the overview of things, but when the smaller details add up, chaos becomes the main force behind them. It is the reason why so many behaviours seem unpredictable, or even random. To understand chaos, we cannot rely on classical linear mathematics, in fact just to glimpse it mathematicians had to become absorbed in the world of topology; a world of saddles, sinks, sources, and attractors; where a hole is not the lack of something but is in itself something (I love that!). I admit that before reading this book I underestimated topology, thinking that it could not rival calculus, statistics, and probability. But once I was asked to visualise an object in four dimensions, let alone fix or six, I understood my own ignorance. In the end, what we end up with is that chaos is not only unpredictable, but also stable; making it one of the most dazzling paradoxes around.

Now enough about chaos and topology, let's talk about the book; after all that's what a review is for. Now, can you read this book without an advanced background in mathematics? Yes, I did. Will it be easy? Not particularly. The larger part of Does God Play Dice is conceptual. You have to put in an effort. If I had to compare this book to something, I'd say that it's close to an introductory course on chaos. It explains a whole lot, but it leaves you with so many questions. The best aspect of this book is that some of the most difficult things to understand are explained clearly with Ian Stewart's subtle sense of humour. And so even when I had my eyes closed trying to visualise something, like attractors, or writing down notes on the Butterfly Effect ( which is pretty useful to me), it was still fun. Challenging, but fun!

Best of all, the book prepares you to read more about chaos. Because let's face it, when you finally finish this book, you're going to have one of two reactions: either "Wow, I'm so glad I read this! I need to learn more about chaos!" or "I don't even want to hear the C word again! Now where's the aspirin?".
Fortunately for me, I had the former reaction. Some chapter were fantastic (chapter 16 comes to mind), others, like the pendulum chapter, could have used more "bling".

So would I recommend this book? Yes, definitely. But a word of advice: take your time with it. Let the new concepts sink in first. Don't rush through it; read the sentence (or the chapter) multiple times if you have to, until you get it. Because once you do, it's worth it.
If you do decide to pick it up, I hope you enjoy it. Have fun, and sorry about the long review.