Curiosity Could Not Always Kill the Cat

BOOK REVIEW

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Prince Stewart’s Cabinet

Of Mathematical Curiosities

Ian Stewart

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          Totally amazing and entertaining! This book by Professor Ian Stewart was filled with bunch of mathematics that could stimulate interest on the mind of anyone who would dare to take the “cool ride” of exploring these new ideas. This compilation of mathematics was the ones that were not taught in the classroom yet discovered and made this thrilling by the author. I never expected that I would be that carried away while reading the book even though I myself was not that fan of mathematics.

            A person like the author who decided to spend years collecting not paintings, not stamps, but a rare kind of collection, and that was mathematics. Math puzzles, stories, and more about math were such a collection to bow down for. Not everyone would dare to step out and say out aloud “Hey, I have a huge collection of mathematical ideas.” This person would definitely freak out the whole class where he or she belongs and would even gain the tag “weirdo”. A sad scenario but is totally true though.

            I think that it’s about time that we open our eyes to the beauty of mathematics. There are lots to scrutinize for and limiting ourselves to what we learned only in the classroom due to fear of rejection might lead us to not appreciating mathematics forever. It would be all too late if one could not be able to discover what may have been his or her forte in the future. For me, reading this book would really change one’s perspective towards mathematics and a whole new person with an open mind and heart to mathematics will arise.

            It’s totally a remarkable experience to be able to finish every segment of the book and so, I got my two thumbs up for the author of this book for sharing his collection with a youth like me. I truly believe that this book could change lives therefore; I recommend that other people especially the youth could be able to share the same experience with me and appreciate the curious world of mathematics.