Rosen: Math Geek

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Math Geek cover

MATH GEEK:
FROM KLEIN BOTTLES TO CHAOS THEORY,
A GUIDE TO THE NERDIEST MATH FACTS, THEOREMS, AND EQUATIONS
Raphael Rosen
Adams Media/June 18, 2015/$15.99
ISBN-10: 440583811
ISBN-13: 978-1440583810

Rosen reports:

In Math Geek, I try to explain how mathematics permeates our everyday lives, from the shapes of weird-looking broccoli in grocery stores to the bunching of buses along their routes.

My goal was to show how mathematics is not just a subject one masters to pass tests in school. On the contrary, math is something built into the fabric of reality, a collection of shapes, patterns, numbers, and arguments that are both beautiful and revealing. I argue that becoming familiar with some of these mathematical concepts is similar to reading Shakespearean sonnets or looking at a sunset. Math isn't just technical. It's also graceful, and worth studying for its own sake.

Raphael Rosen. Photo by Elle Starkman.

I first learned about science writing in 2002, when I began working at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. I always had been a science junkie, and enjoyed explaining complicated topics, so the discovery of a career path that merged both pursuits seemed too good to be true. After freelancing a bit for NASA and Popular Woodworking, I enrolled in 2010 in a journalism master's program at the University of Southern California. Later I interned at Sky & Telescope, wrote a children's book about outer space, and created text for a traveling exhibition that merged science and art. I currently have a staff writing position at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

I got a contract for this book after an editor at Adams Media found my profile on MediaBistro.com. He was seeking an author to write a book about math in the world, and my history and preferences seemed to match what he was looking for.

I love long-form writing, but had only a vague notion of the amount of time I would need to finish a book of this length. Before I started this project, I wish I had had a better sense of how much research it would require. Now I know just how formidable writing a book can be! Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to writing more of them.

Contact info:

Raphael Rosen, 415-317-6203, raphael.rosen@gmail.com
Publicist: Bethany Carland-Adams, 508-427-6726, bethany.carland-adams@fwcommunity.com
Rosen’s website: www.raphaelprosen.com
Book website: www.mathgeekbook.com

NASW members: will your book be published soon? Take advantage of this opportunity for shameless self-promotion.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you started this project, or had done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.

Send info and images to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.

Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.