Love Triangle
The Life-changing Magic of Trigonometry
Published on 19. June 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-14-199618-9 (ISBN)
Description
Explore the life-changing magic of trigonometry with Matt Parker, stand-up mathematician and No. 1 bestselling author of Humble Pi
Why can no two people ever see the same rainbow? What happens when you pull a pop song apart into pure sine waves and play it back on a piano? Why does the wake behind a duck always form an angle of exactly 39 degrees? And what did mathematicians have to do with the great pig stampede of 2012? The answer to each of these questions can be found in the triangle.
In Love Triangle, stand-up comedian, ex-maths teacher and Sunday Times number one bestselling author Matt Parker is on a mission to prove why we should all show a lot more love for triangles, along with the useful trigonometry and geometry they enable. To make his point, he uses triangles to create his own digital avatar, survive a harrowing motorcycle ride, cut a sandwich into three equal parts, and measure tall buildings while wearing silly shoes. But soon these hare-brained experiments begin to reveal a genuinely important truth: triangles are the hidden pattern beneath the surface of the contemporary world, used in everything from GPS to CGI via Spotify streaming, the play button and your best mate's triangle tattoo.
Join Matt Parker as he demonstrates why there's more to triangles than Pythagoras and SOHCAHTOA. Triangles are everything and everything is triangles.
Why can no two people ever see the same rainbow? What happens when you pull a pop song apart into pure sine waves and play it back on a piano? Why does the wake behind a duck always form an angle of exactly 39 degrees? And what did mathematicians have to do with the great pig stampede of 2012? The answer to each of these questions can be found in the triangle.
In Love Triangle, stand-up comedian, ex-maths teacher and Sunday Times number one bestselling author Matt Parker is on a mission to prove why we should all show a lot more love for triangles, along with the useful trigonometry and geometry they enable. To make his point, he uses triangles to create his own digital avatar, survive a harrowing motorcycle ride, cut a sandwich into three equal parts, and measure tall buildings while wearing silly shoes. But soon these hare-brained experiments begin to reveal a genuinely important truth: triangles are the hidden pattern beneath the surface of the contemporary world, used in everything from GPS to CGI via Spotify streaming, the play button and your best mate's triangle tattoo.
Join Matt Parker as he demonstrates why there's more to triangles than Pythagoras and SOHCAHTOA. Triangles are everything and everything is triangles.
Reviews / Votes
This book is an attempt to rescue trigonometry from the bounds of boredom... Parker, who was born in Australia, is maths royalty... Parker is funny, likeable and aware enough of his audience to carry them along. And those who persevere will end up smarter than they were when they started it. You'll use triangles to understand Einstein's relativity, and end up at the stark realisation that, at the quantum level, matter - you, I, this book - is all just a set of triangles -- Tom Calver * Sunday Times * Matt Parker is a real nerd's nerd... but we're in safe hands here as we range from those curvy walls of glass that architects seem to love, to why everyone sees a different rainbow. A funny and often surprising guide to the history of triangles - and the applications (both practical and highly impractical) of trigonometry -- Tim Harford * Financial Times * I felt well looked-after, and handled with saint-like patience... Parker has a fine old time with his material, and only a curmudgeon could fail to be charmed by his willingness to call the elongated pentagonal gyrocupolarotunda a "dumb shape", or Heron's 2,000-year-old formula for finding the area of a triangle "stupid". Nor, in the latter case, is he wrong. Four stars -- Simon Ings * Telegraph * The maths he expounds so expertly and so clearly is always fascinating -- Nick Rennison * Mail on Sunday * Very funny... When it clicks, it is glorious -- Chris Stokel-Walker * New Scientist * Despite dealing with what might be familiar concepts, Love Triangle shows that geometry and trigonometry can pop up in exciting and unexpected places. From cosmology to skateboarding, Parker argues that triangles underpin both the epic and the everyday. The book, which is funny and accessible, would also be suitable for keen teenage readers -- Katherine Skipper * Physics World * Move over Euclid. It's Parker Time. Love Triangle is a blissful blend of pure science and pure merriment. Edifying, entertaining, excellent! -- Alex James Matt Parker is unique: he's made me laugh about math many times by showing just how weird it can get. He's also made me cry about math by showing how transcendently beautiful it is -- Adam Savage Fine. Triangles are now my favourite shape -- Hannah Fry The author has a gift for making somewhat tedious topics not only comprehensible and absorbing, but also great fun... Parker's tireless enthusiasm, light touch, and inviting manner make for a reading experience akin to a visit to Epcot Center, led by a guide in possession of childlike wonder in addition to adult acumen and humor. The author never gets mired in the weeds, even as he manages to cover a tremendous amount of detailed information, aided by illustrations that feature appealing captions running the gamut from simple to complex. A rare book about math sure to make you smile, despite your feelings about the subject. Once again, Parker measures up * Kirkus *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
251 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-199618-9 (9780141996189)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2024
Penguin Books Ltd
€10.99
Available for download
Person
Originally a maths teacher from Australia, Matt Parker is now a stand-up comedian and a YouTuber with over one hundred million views. He is the author of the #1 bestseller Humble Pi and Things to Make and Do in the Fourth
Dimension. Matt is also frequently seen, heard, and read on the Discovery Channel, on BBC radio, and in The Guardian, in that order. He has previously held world records for both the Rubik's Cube and Space Invaders. In the pursuit of maths, Matt has: flipped a coin 10,000 times, travelled to Antarctica, memorized pi to hundreds of digits, and been bitten by a bullet ant in the Amazon rainforest. Matt has given maths lectures at Cambridge University, Oxford University, Harvard University and Lake Monger Primary School.
Dimension. Matt is also frequently seen, heard, and read on the Discovery Channel, on BBC radio, and in The Guardian, in that order. He has previously held world records for both the Rubik's Cube and Space Invaders. In the pursuit of maths, Matt has: flipped a coin 10,000 times, travelled to Antarctica, memorized pi to hundreds of digits, and been bitten by a bullet ant in the Amazon rainforest. Matt has given maths lectures at Cambridge University, Oxford University, Harvard University and Lake Monger Primary School.