The inspiration to begin writing my first book was loss and hardship, and how mathematics played a critical role in deeply defining my happiness.
In 2015, The Right Angle, a business that I had poured all my energy and money into was
extinguished–literally. The building that was going to house the first math store/school in Canada was destroyed by the first fire in this historic building that was built in 1871.
My dreams, as they say, went up in smoke.
What I lost gave me the gift of what was left–mathematics.
All the mathematics that I had curated to be in The Right Angle, from the dozens of books that I bought for the lounge area to the after school/weekend program I was creating to all the math puzzles and toys that I collected, still belonged to me.
Living life through an impoverished lens from that moment on, and realizing that, while so much was taken away from me, so much was also left for me.
Pi of Life: The Hidden Happiness of Mathematics is a book that examines all the wonderful traits that involve this everlasting joy. Each chapter details them individually. From “Gratitude” to “Humility” to even “Laughter”, these chapters discuss how mathematics is inextricably linked to them.
Life is indeed beautiful, and more beautiful when examined through the prism of mathematics.
I believe many of us have fond memories of recess in public school. Staring at the clock, waiting for that first break from class routines to run outside in the playground and simply do whatever. Run and fall, make up games with friends, and generally just play with complete freedom.
Growing up in Toronto in the 1970’s, we had the benefit of something called “Children’s Village”, which was basically this massive playground, 2.5 acres, of immersion and interaction. The memories of the “screaming laughter” from hundreds of children running around, jumping, and climbing, was at least a subconscious influence to write this book. A book I co-wrote with Dr. Chris Brownell.
So, the concept of this book is what kind of mathematics would have students run towards it–and not away from it.
That is the essence of this book. Loads and loads of fun mathematical problems, ideas, games, and puzzles have students(and teachers) want to spend creative and curious time with mathematics.
Like a playground, there is no linearity to the experience of what to discover. However, even though the book is written with the lightheartedness of childhood play, some of the mathematics in the book is quite challenging.
But, when we are challenged with our highest skill level, it is then we move into the idea of “Flow”--the psychology of optimal experience(which is actually a book written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi).
Mathematics is a playground for the mind. And playing here often is nourishment for the soul.
After Math Recess, I thought I was finished writing math books. Between the concepts of lifetime happiness and lifetime play, I figured I had covered all that I needed to.
However, I began to realize that there was a critical and thematic idea that could be fleshed out into a whole book–curiosity.
It’s been an important marker in both my personal and professional life. To be simply wildly curious about everything. Even teaching today(online), my goals with my students Ola(13) in Portugal and Rowan(8) in the United States are simple–just impart curiosity and wonder.
And, while doing so, just keep creating new rabbit holes for them to go down.
Chasing Rabbits is a very personal story of how I became eternally curious about mathematics and the impact that curiosity has had on my life as I get older. Like my previous two books, the mathematics here is rich and challenging–as life should be, right?
You can only romanticize the intersection of mathematics and curiosity. As such, this is very much a love letter to mathematics itself.
My love for music goes as far back as my love for mathematics–childhood. And, in a parallel which isn’t ironic, the mathematics and music that is closest to my heart has been more of the underground variety, and not the mainstream fare.
There was zero plan to ever write a music book. That was until we were in the throes of the pandemic. This was a time period when many people felt isolated and anxious.
For me, while I was naturally concerned about the general health impact of COVID-19, at no time did my mental health suffer. That’s because I had music. Correction. I was still listening to new music.
Most people stop purchasing new music by their late 20’s/early 30’s. That’s just a statistical truth. Most people have the peak of their romanization with music in their rebellious teenage/high school years.
Mine never peaked. And, it didn’t peak because I have been listening to heavy music all my life. Sure, it’s sonically heavy at times, but that is a very limited definition of “heavy”. But, most importantly, as I was closing out my 50’s, my favorite period of enjoying music was the current one.
This book is a story of how all that happened. How I went from being an awkward teenager whose music library was rather limited–I entered high school only owning two Styx cassettes–to being a reliable source for the heaviest underground music being made all over the world
The book is written with great patience, passion, and detail. So many of our lives and our identities are shaped by our love for music. However, I go deeper than that. I go into the moments–seconds even–that colour our listening and live experience with rock and roll.
Chasing Rabbits was a love letter to mathematics. Sonic Seducer is a love letter to music.
