Ian Stewart’s the Natures of Numbers

"We live in a universe of patterns where every night, the stars move in circles across the sky.”

The said quote was taken from the first two lines of the book and after reading those lines, it was difficult not to be curious to wonder what the book is all about. From the very first chapter, the book stated the uncontroversial idea that the nature is full of patterns. The author, Ian Stewart, showed a very insightful idea as he explains how patterns are everywhere in our universe.

The book served as an eye opener to each and every one and make us see the world from a Mathematician’s point of view. About halfway through the book there is a chapter on broken symmetry. This was very clear and well written and anyone could understand this section. He talks about mirror images and tries to justify it with simple evidence. Towards the end of the book, there is a section which I found rather interesting. It was the formation of a detached drop. It starts as a bulging droplet hanging from a surface then producing a narrow neck and then eventually developed into a spherical drop.

It starts by explaining how what seems to be a dream is a reality. It goes on about how using compounds can produce any situation imaginable. It explains how Mathematics is used in that universe.

As I read more about the insights of the book, I’ve discovered the evolution of things with the use of mathematics. The hook goes on to explain how mathematics is not only about numbers and explains how numbers could have been found.

Ian Stewart’s The Natures of Numbers shows how life on Earth forms the principles of mathematics. Starting with the simplest patterns, each chapter looks at a different kind of patterning system and the mathematics that underlies it. In doing so, the book also uncovers some universal patterns, both in nature and man-made, from the basic geometry of ancient Greece to the visually startling fractals