Peter Lynch launches new Book (posted 07/11/16)

Professor Peter Lynch, Professor Emeritus, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics launched his latest book, That’s Maths – The Mathematical Magic in Everyday Life, in Hodges Figgis bookshop on 25 October. The collection of 100 articles includes pieces that have appeared in The Irish Times, blog posts from his website ((opens in a new window)https://thatsmaths.com) and a number of new articles. It’s filled with interesting information about the relevance of mathematics to our world.

Lynch has been writing the “That’s Maths” column in the Irish Times for over four years now and his 100th contribution was published in October. He began the column as a way to “elucidate the beauty, utility and fun of mathematics by examining some of its many uses in modern society and to illustrate how it benefits our lives in so many ways”. As he says in the introduction to the collection it is regrettable that public attitudes to mathematics are predominantly unsympathetic. That the beauty of maths can be difficult to appreciate and that the significance of maths in our lives is often underestimated. Through his work Lynch has contributed change the public opinion of mathematics from a stale and static subject to one that is vibrant, changing and totally relevant.

Prof Lynch was Deputy Director at Met Eireann, before founding the Meteorology and Climate Centre in UCD in 2004 and has continued to lecture in UCD, currently providing the popular maths course “Awe Sums” which is an evening course open to the public in UCD.

That’s Maths – The Mathematical Magic in Everyday Life is published by Gill Books.