The book is written by a mathematician who teaches at UC Berkeley. I'm only about 30% through the book so far. It is a combination - discussion of higher math as applied to things like quantum physics, and flashbacks about this man's experiences of growing up in Russia and trying to become a mathematician. What I think many here would find interesting is the narrative of how oppressive the finest math college in Russia was against Jews. Overall, I find it to be an interesting read. I learned of the author when he was recently interviewed in a finance journal I regularly read. He mentioned in the interview how a breakdown in math knowledge affected the finance markets and worsened the most recent financial collapse.

That's interesting. Thanks for sharing. I think there is some truth to that. I find myself teaching my kids math regularly, thinking that it is the stepping stone.

I think back about my experience in college. I went to a very highly-ranked engineering school. But, part of my studies included critical thinking, economics, ethics. In an interesting way, it all seemed to fit together in a math-like way - kind of like the "braids" described in this book. It was a great experience...