Yet another Hacker News

111 points digital55 3 hours ago 23 comments

pdhborges 3 hours ago | parent

The book is quite basic. Don't expect to get much out of it if you have a STEM degree.

caaqil 3 hours ago | parent

> The book is quite basic.

Perplexing how it's on the front page then given the background of the median HN user (presumably technical with some STEM background in general, some pure VC bros peppered in etc).

The Tao love conquers all, as it were.

golly_ned 2 hours ago | parent

I enjoy reading less technical books even on technical topics I know about. They serve a different purpose.

calebkaiser 2 hours ago | parent

Eh, I just like reading new books on mathematics, even if they're covering well trod ground. I think a lot of people in math are like this. I'm not endlessly grinding through introductory textbooks, but there is something nice about seeing someone brilliant give their take on something fundamental. And the cultural differences you get in reading different texts from different periods or from different authors is really stimulating, for me at least.

ballmerpoint 2 hours ago | parent

It is still good as a book on philosophy of mathematics. Not the best, perhaps, but a solid introduction.

black_knight 34 minutes ago | parent

Like, the epistemology and metaphysics of mathematics? That kind of philosophy? Realism, idealism and all that jazz?

ballmerpoint 26 minutes ago | parent

Nothing so esoteric — it’s written for the popular audience. But there’s a lot of “what is mathematics?” or “how do we do mathematics?” Some random highlights:

> A big part of mathematical training is becoming acquainted with different concepts and recognizing how they’re cousins to each other.

> I encourage everyone to fool around with numbers—some enthusiasts discover important patterns that way, and some famous mathematicians, like the late John Conway, made a career of it.

> When we give word problems in school, we tend to cherry-pick perfect models that have one correct answer. Rather than teach a preordained procedure, we could encourage exploration by asking students to fix more realistic models where things are slightly noisy or slightly incorrect.

sanderjd 39 minutes ago | parent

I'm hoping my kids will get a lot out of it as they grow up :)

lbeckman314 3 hours ago | parent

Previous Discussion (February 2026): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47113796

TIL about Quanta Books, thanks OP — will be checking this out! :D

prideout 2 hours ago | parent

I heard he was writing a book about the Cosmic Distance Ladder. I was looking forward to that, I hope this isn't what it evolved into.

chrisczura 1 hour ago | parent

It is listed as 'in preparation' when you click on |> Books and scroll to the bottom of the list at: https://teorth.github.io/tao-web/index.html

gnabgib 1 hour ago | parent

You could link directly: https://teorth.github.io/tao-web/climbing-the-cosmic-distanc...

tveita 1 hour ago | parent

I quite liked this interview:

Terence Tao explains 6 essential mathematical concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOMx2BHHWtE

antimora 1 hour ago | parent

Received my copy today via Amazon.

sanderjd 38 minutes ago | parent

What do you think?

slwvx 1 hour ago | parent

The "algebra excerpt" [1] doesn't impress me at all. Sure, maybe equations intimidate some, but why not add some images or figures? Is that page really one of the six chapters, or is it 1/10 of a chapter?

Is this a book for children?

[1] https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/six-math-essentials-b...

flowerlad 33 minutes ago | parent

The amazon preview [1] does not even show the contents page. How am I supposed to check if I might be interested in this book?

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374621799?tag=macmillan-20

kirubakaran 26 minutes ago | parent

The above page has the ToC:

1. numbers as the gateway to quantitative thinking

2. algebra as the gateway to abstraction

3. geometry as a way to calculate beyond what we can see

4. probability as a tool to navigate uncertainty with rigorous thinking

5. analysis as a means to tame the very large or the very small

6. dynamics as the mathematics of change

NordStreamYacht 25 minutes ago | parent

The paperback is 89 pages, the hardcover is 128. That's the only info Amazon shows me. And there's an audiobook, which is odd for a maths book.