The big bang of numbers How to build the universe using only math

Suri (The City of Devi), a novelist and math professor at the University of Maryland, takes on the challenge of developing mathematics from scratch in this high concept thought experiment. Suri divides his work into seven "days," analogous to the seven days of creation in the Bible. Day one brings the invention of arithmetic, in which Suri shows how to "create" numbers, writing that they're their own "independent entities." In subsequent chapters, the newly created numbers play games to invent mathematical concepts such as geometry (which is day two), patterns (on day four), infinity (on day six), and on the final day, emergence, which is the "spontaneous generation of complexity" that "could plausibly create life itself." Suri takes a jovial approach to his subject (there are, for example, side-notes to the Pope, who Suri writes would be his "most treasured potential reader"), and suggests that "the neat thing" about math is that it "can be enjoyed without needing any special mathematical knowledge or being a computation whiz." Lay readers may have their doubts, though, as the author's explanations sometimes confound (his breakdown of different sizes of infinity, for instance, can be a trip to parse). The math-minded, though, will enjoy Suri's unique approach. (Sept.)

In-depth analysis of "math as the life force of the universe, a top-down driving power that fashions everything that exists." Suri, a novelist and mathematics professor, notes that while physics and religion can offer some answers to many big questions--"Why is the universe the way it is? How do we fit in? The two camps have been duking it out over the answers for centuries"--mathematics offers concrete solutions. In the popular mind, math equals calculation: very useful, very dull. By contrast, writes the author, "we will view mathematics as the fundamental source of creation, with reality trying to follow its dictates as best it can." Religions have explained the origin and evolution of the universe since the dawn of history; during the last century, physicists chimed in with the Big Bang and other theories. Suri proposes to do the same with math, and readers who pay attention will agree that he is on to something. The essence of math is not counting but measuring, and nothing measurable existed before the Big Bang. You can't determine where the Big Bang occurred because that was also when space began. In the beginning were numbers, and all were created equal, which turns out to be less simple than it sounds. Numbers can be natural (1, 2, 3…), rational (including some fractions), or irrational (pi, one the square root of 2). All these are real, but unreal (i.e. imaginary) numbers like the square root of -1 also exist, and they're genuinely useful in many areas of science and engineering. Although Suri does not fully construct the universe, he successfully explores many areas of seemingly pure math that explain the natural world, from the shapes of galaxies and living creatures to weather, gravity, beauty, and even art. He also sheds light on abstruse subjects (fractals, infinity, curved space) that puzzle humans more than they should, creating a text that is deeper than most popular writing on math but worth the effort. A successful contribution to the math-isn't-boring genre. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.