Following its success in 2016, a new extended edition of “The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus: The Mathematics of Christmas” will be published on 16 November. Written by CASA’s Dr. Hannah Fry and Dr. Thomas Oléron Evans, this book takes readers on a light-hearted tour of the festive season, looking at familiar Christmas traditions from a mathematical perspective.
Alongside explanations of how to deal with unwanted gifts, how to predict the content of the Queen’s speech and the most geometrically pleasing way to decorate your tree, this second edition includes a brand new chapter all about Christmas Cake, presenting some marvellous mathematical ways to cut it up so that all your most belligerent relatives think they’ve got the best bit!
2017 also sees the publication of an American edition of the book (24 October, Overlook Press), complete with explanations of some the weirder aspects of a British Christmas, written for the US audience (Christmas Crackers! Because no festive feast is complete without an explosive device and a terrible joke sealed inside a cardboard tube…).
Packed with illustrations and diagrams (and jokes!), this is an ideal gift for anyone with an interest in maths and a healthy sense of humour.
Reviews of the first edition:
"Just in case the charm and beauty of mathematical thinking has passed by some of your friends and family, they will be grateful for this slim volume in their stocking. The puzzles and games of Hannah Fry and Thomas Evans involving present-wrapping and Queen's Speech bingo are but an entry drug for heady passages about the nature of truth and game theory." (New Scientist)
"A smart, witty, original take on the festive season, with calculations and theories to help you prepare and solve your Christmas conundrums." (The Sun)
The book is published by Transworld under the Black Swan imprint, RRP £9.99. It is available now from Amazon and elsewhere.