Summer Reading Book Review: “How to Bake Pi” by Eugenia Cheng

Summer carries with it the hope of rest and relaxation. An enjoyable read can make a good day great.

This summer, we’re reading about computational joy. Whether exploring the beauty of numbers or contemplating codes and ciphers, these books illuminate just how fun computation can be.

July’s book, How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics, considers math through the lens of food.

Overview

In How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics, author Eugenia Cheng offers readers an expansive menu of mathematical concepts. The book’s foodie focus acts not only as a bridge between math and Cheng’s more skeptical readers, but also as an ode to food itself. Cheng writes as fondly about cake as she does categorization.

How to Bake Pi is divided into two parts, with the first part covering general mathematics and the second looking at category theory. The parts are divided into chapters, with titles such as “Abstraction” and “Context,” then divided further still into sections. This continues throughout the book until the final chapter, “What Category Theory Is.”

Each chapter considers a new idea, pairing it with a recipe. The recipe acts as a starting point before expanding to broader ideas. Topics are varied and far reaching. While some of the text is dense, the book itself is not overlong. The ebook is 289 pages, with the final pages including acknowledgements and an index.

A Closer Look

How to Bake Pi begins with a recipe for clotted cream, followed immediately by the question “What on earth does this have to do with math?” The rest of the book is Cheng’s answer, as chapters dive deeply into various mathematical concepts. If food is an appetizer, math is the main course.

For the most part, each chapter’s recipe is simple. The chapter on abstraction features mayonnaise — or is it hollandaise sauce? Cheng latches onto this either-or relationship, discussing how a simplification of each sauce’s parts creates a near-identical condiment. How to Bake Pi is not a cookbook, although recipes appear accurate.

One surprising part of How to Bake Pi is in how much food doesn’t feature at times. Rather, Cheng’s life suffuses the text, accompanied by facts on piano music or the New York City Marathon. Some foodies may feel disappointed by this lack of food science. All the same, Cheng’s whirlwind style makes for a brisk, engaging read, even for concepts that may be overly complex for lay readers with less knowledge of math.

Takeaways

In the prologue, Cheng shares several myths about mathematics, one of which is the implication that only clever people can do such difficult work. She suggests that it’s more that mathematics serves to make difficult things easy. This idea is echoed in the last chapter, where she states that “category theory is there to make difficult mathematics easy.”

For all that food is used as a framing device for the book, these initial myths, particularly those regarding the ease of math, feel like the true frames for what Cheng writes. At the midpoint of the book, she goes deeper into how something “easy” can be so challenging for people. It becomes a nuanced discussion, with considerations for belief and logic and assumption.

It’s this shifting point of view that is How to Bake Pi’s strength. In building up comparisons and connections between food and math — and, further still, between the author’s life and mathematical ideas — readers get a sense of Cheng’s philosophy of computation. Cheng presents math alongside daily tasks in a way that makes the initial comparison to food seem effortless. Of course food and math go together: both are everyday things.

For math fans, or readers willing to give math a chance, there is joy to be found in the ways that Cheng connects How to Bake Pi’s disparate ideas. It is much like a smorgasbord, with surprising pairings and a variety of topics to suit different appetites. Through her book, Cheng shares a compelling vision of math in the kitchen — and beyond.

If you’ve read this book, what did you think of it? Share your thoughts below.

About the blogger:

Jesika Brooks

Jesika Brooks is an editor and bookworm with a Master of Library and Information Science degree. A lifelong learner herself, she has always been fascinated by the intersection of education and technology. She edits the Tech-Based Teaching blog (and always wants to hear from new voices!)