No, I was never an English major (although my mom was). I wasn’t even a math major (although I taught math for decades). But, as a linguistics major, I had entwining connections with both English and math, as linguistics intersects with both in a variety of ways. More generally, I have also had an abiding interest in intersectionality ever since I was 12 years old or so.

All of that added up to an immediate need to read Math for English Majors as soon as I accidentally spotted it on the library’s shelf. And then, when I noticed that the author was Ben Orlin, the deal was sealed. Now of course you probably don’t know who Ben Orlin is, but that’s your loss; he’s widely known among math teachers for his accessible and entertaining cartoons and other illustrations.

You don’t have to be an English major to profit from reading this particular book. But the title does tell you that humanities types are probably the intended audience. If you’re a math teacher or otherwise deep into mathematics you might still enjoy it but you probably won’t learn anything from it.

Actually, on deeper consideration, I admit that that’s not true!

You won’t learn any new math, but you will definitely learn something important that all too many beginning math teachers and parents don’t know: how to talk to those who don’t understand math at their level, especially those who insist that they’re not “good at math” — in other words, at least half of your students. Orlin has a point of view that has resonated with me ever since the aforementioned age of 12: that math is a language.

Finally, we need to look at one reader’s review on Amazon. Occasionally reader reviews are genuinely helpful. The first one I came across happened to be this one:

I really like this book. It’s filled with pleasurable “aha moments” where something you know (or knew) in math suddenly becomes clear and interesting. This book will be enjoyed and valued by a wide range of readers with a wide range of math backgrounds. But I’ll single out a very specific group. If you are a parent and want to help your elementary school child with math homework, this book will be will be enormously helpful to you, while also being a pleasure to read. It will provide you with mathematical insights and connections that will make it much easier for you to understand precisely what your child is learning (or should be learning) in math. The book will make doing math with your child a much more rewarding and pleasurable experience. And even if you are not the parent of an elementary school child, you will find the book to be a joy to read. Ben is a great writer, and he is also a great son.

I never pay attention to the authors of Amazon reviews. They often don’t show real names, and even when they do I don’t know the names. But in this case you may want to know that the reviewer was James Orlin — as you may have guessed if you read all the way through to the last word.

Categories: Books, Math, Teaching & Learning