Book · 2024 · Mathematics
Mathematica
A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosity
Why people recommend it
Mathematica by David Bessis is a thought-provoking book that explores how our minds work, championing intuition and challenging formal, intimidating approaches to mathematics. On EconTalk, Russ Roberts strongly recommended the book to his audience, pointing out that it contains no formal math and is really about how human beings make sense of the world. Roberts returned to the book in subsequent episodes, mentioning it when introducing the author as a guest and drawing connections to other discussions regarding intuition and system one thinking. In another episode of EconTalk, Roberts praised a subversive idea presented in the volume, noting that the text argues for starting with intuition, checking which assumptions are true, and building understanding from there. Throughout these various conversations, the host continually highlighted the profound shift in perspective the book offers regarding learning, intelligence, and cognitive processing. Listeners and guests alike found the volume to be a refreshing antidote to conventional, rigid ways of thinking about abstract concepts, human intuition, and everyday problem-solving.
Who recommended it
- Russ Roberts Recommended
Russ Roberts — 5 mentions
“He was last here in October of 2025 discussing his marvelous book Mathematica.”
“I interviewed David Bessis re recently on his book Mathematica which is a really he really champions intuition.”
“And much of this book uh is is consent with the recent episode with David Bessis on his book Mathematica.”
“It's sort of about math, but that's not what it's really about. There's no formal math in the book. There's nothing intimidating. It's really a book about how our minds work and how we make sense of the world, which are topics that we spend a lot of time here on this program. So listeners, read this book.”
“But what you're suggesting in this book which is actually subversive uh to all kinds of things is that actually you start with the intuition and some intuitions are true and some are not. So you check them and the ones that are true you say okay I got that one right. The ones that aren't true and this is”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (8: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I I saw that post when I was um making the final corrections on on my book before the publication on of the American edition and I was really disturbed.”
“His book is Mathematica, a secret world of intuition and curiosity.”
“When I was writing the book, I probably Googled all the pop math books I could find and they were all starting with the same promise. And every every time I I read the pitch about a new book, I thought my heart was beating. I thought, okay, someone wrote the book already. And then I I I went on”
“This is the topic of the book. What do you do inside your head when you become better at mathematics?”
“And after I I I wrote that in my book, I found like maybe 20 instances of famous mathematician writing the same exact thing. You don't read that book. You should not read that book. They're not made to be read.”
“An example I give in the book is that of a banana cake recipe.”
“And uh the there's um a famous mathematician called Misha Gmoff and I and I quote him in my book because he said something very interesting about Romanu. He said you know it's not the exact sentence but it's really the spirit of the sentence. I'm just inventing the quote but you can find the actual quote in my book.”
“My guest today has been David Bessis. His book is Mathematica.”