Number Freak: From 1 to 200- The Hidden Language of Numbers Revealed [Paperback]

In "Number Freak", Derrick Niederman sets out to write something interesting about each number from 1 to 200. The results are from a mix of disciplines, including:

- Math: "28 is the second perfect number. It equals the sum of its proper factors (1+2+4+7+14=28)"

- Literature: "...Catch-22 may be the most recognizable use of the number 22 in modern culture."

- Religion: "...40 days of Lent to the traditional 40 days of mourning in the Muslim faith."

- Language: "...the most complex Chinese character still in use....involves 57 separate pen strokes...."

and lots of trivia (39 is the highest number on a standard Master combination lock, The Roman Catholic Church has 194 dioceses within the United States, Studio 54 was located at 254 West 54th Street, etc.)

As a trained mathematician, it's no surprise that Niederman devotes the most space to math properties of many numbers. While the other information can be interesting, the math examples seem to be the most fascinating and unique. Indeed, from reading the introduction it seems that the author himself worries about juxtaposing important mathematics with "fun and silly stuff." As a lover of trivia myself, I always enjoy learning new random facts about everything, but I also found it a bit distracting from the interesting math history and unique properties of various numbers.

Readers who are interested in a book that focuses more on math should definitely seek out The Penguin Book of Curious and Interesting Numbers: Revised Edition (Penguin Press Science) by David Wells. This book looks at numbers from -1 to a very, very large number (called Graham's Number), and stays within the world of math facts.

Finally, there were a few things that I would have liked to have seen in this book. First, the introduction mentions a glossary, but I couldn't find any. Second, some in-text references would have been helpful for the reader who is interested in learning more about certain math properties. Finally, an index would have been useful. Also, the book has a number of puzzles scattered throughout that are answered in the back. However, I found these to be a distraction and didn't really fit in with the rest of the book.

Niederman's book is definitely one to be enjoyed in small doses, and in that aspect it succeeds well. In addition, if by bridging math and popular culture it can bring a new audience to the love of numbers, then it will clearly be a success.

I enjoyed this book but have been frustrated by a fair number of typos - such as 1/2 + 1/5 + 1/5 + 1/12 = 1 and the magic hexagon that has 15 in it twice. Be careful before you scratch your head too long trying to understand something, it may be a typo!

Read: 5/13
Rate: 4/5

5/13: Number Freak: From 1 to 200- The Hidden Language of Numbers Revealed is chock-ful of information about every natural number from 1 to 200 inclusive. My only gripe about it is that...what am I going to do with the trivial information? I'm not sure if I can do anything with a Keith number or a Vampire number. All in all, Number Freak: From 1 to 200- The Hidden Language of Numbers Revealed is good, but all of that stuff can be googled.