Once the Cabinet is Opened

Ian Stewart, the author of A Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities tells us his curiosity and his passion for Mathematics. Here, he tells us his story on how he began to love Math and his collection of notebooks with essays that are filled with curiosity and excitement all in a cabinet. And that gave him the idea of having the title: “A Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities”.

Stewart also tells us that not all math lessons are taught in school, and he teaches them to us through this amazing book. He shares us the amazing mathematic games, exciting puzzles and mathematical facts.

In my opinion, “A Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities” by Ian Stewart is a very interesting one and is worth of your money. It gives us the excitement of learning Mathematics like we never had before. It made me think of what more stores for us from his notebooks in his enchanted cabinet.

I was intrigued in the four-color theorem, It started when Francis Guthrie colored a map of British countries in 1852 and wrote to his younger brother Frederick that he could use only four colors to color a map without a region having the same color to its adjacent region. It was 124 years before his question was answered, and even until now it cannot be solved without the help of computers.

I enjoyed the “Curious Calculations” part. I tried it using my calculator.

I was a little bit in-love with the Alien Encounter story, I have read it over and over again (I like aliens). It is very logic which is why it is interesting and exciting at the same time.

Stewart introduced a game called “Tap an Animal”, it is obviously a mathematical game and is great for parties. I think it is a very enjoyable game especially to kids. It practices their brains to think and count.

 I never knew that Mathematics could be so much more exciting than I think it is. Ian Stewart did a very good job on making this book. It made me wonder if I will ever get the chance to see those golden notebooks in his magical cabinet.