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Cliff Pickover Research staff member "My goal is to entertain, inform, and invite readers to test their powers of lateral thinking, to see the world in a fresh way." |
On the book: Calculus and Pizza (2003)
What made you decide to write a book on this topic?
My primary interest is finding new ways to expand creativity by melding art, science, mathematics, psychology and other seemingly-disparate areas of human endeavor. A secondary goal is to educate the public as to the wonders of science and creative thinking. Calculus and Pizza teaches calculus to a broad audience, including students. Setting up residence in a pizza parlor, I focus on pepperoni, meatballs, and pizza to make complex topics fun to learn. Students are surprised to learn that calculus has affected virtually every field of science and plays invaluable roles in fields that range from science to sociology, from modeling ecological disasters and the spread of diseases to understanding the architecture of our brains. The pepperoni and pizza problems are comfortable and compelling introductions to an amazing range of calculus applications.
My books cover a range of topics, including computers and creativity, art, mathematics, black holes, human behavior and intelligence, time travel, higher dimensions, medical mysteries, alien life, religion, and science fiction. I tend to agree with what Isaac Asimov wrote "I believe that scientific knowledge has fractal properties; that no matter how much we learn, whatever is left, however small it may seem, is just as infinitely complex as the whole was to start with. That, I think, is the secret of the Universe."
How did you go about the research necessary to write such a book?
I have no magical approach with respect to research. For all my books, I must thoroughly educate myself by continual reading, searching, and discussing the topic with smart people. Naturally, the Web is a marvelous tool for information exchange.
I am currently dreaming of computer methods and services that use controlled randomness and evolve a useful set of connections for communications. What a fabulous research tool this would be. This would facilitate a flow of questions, answers, ideas and knowledge -- and in some sense become part of a "group brain" composed of several individuals whose composite knowledge is greater than a single member's knowledge.
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What are the greatest challenges to you as an author?
The greatest challenge is never in the writing -- it's never in the idea generation. My challenge is to determine how I can reach the greatest number of people and touch their lives in inspiring ways. Writing and marketing a book is like selling a computing system or service -- one has to consider the wants and needs of a target audience and then determine the most cost-effective means of letting the audience become aware of your delightful offering.
What inspires and encourages you to write?
Prolific authors realize that their days on Earth are finite, and authors can leave a small mark by connecting with people through the written word. My books, puzzle calendars and Web pages reach millions of people. My books have been translated into a dozen languages.
After you die, will the world remember anything you did? Most of us rarely leave marks, except on our immediate family or a few friends. We'll never have our lives illuminated in a New York Times obituary or uttered by a TV news anchorperson. Even your immediate family will know nothing of you within four generations. Your great-grandchildren may carry some vestigial memory of you, but that will fade like a burning ember when they die -- and you will be extinguished and forgotten.
What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
The key to success is mostly desire and perseverance. I am happy to speak with any aspiring authors and share with them what I have learned. My personal Web site, Pickover.com, offers "tips for writers."
Who are some of your favorite authors today?
A ranking of my favorite books:
1. Passage, Connie Willis
2. Shibumi, Trevanian
3. Job, Robert Heinlein
4. Permutation City, Greg Egan
5. The Story of Mankind, Hendrik Wilem van Loon
Cliff Pickover: Publishing history and foreign rights
A Passion for Mathematics, Wiley, 2005
Calculus and Pizza, Wiley, 2003
The Mathematics of Oz, Cambridge University Press, 20022,3,5,6
The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars, Princeton University Press, 2002
The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience, St. Martin's Press, 2002
The Stars of Heaven, Oxford University Press, 20011,2,3
Mind-Bending Puzzles (calendars & cards), Pomegranate, 2001
Dreaming the Future, Prometheus, 2001
Wonders of Numbers, Oxford University Press, 20001,3,5,9,11,12
The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits, Prometheus, 2000
Cryptorunes: Codes and Secret Writing, Pomegranate, 2000
Surfing Through Hyperspace, Oxford University Press, 19991,3
Time: A Traveler's Guide, Oxford University Press, 19981,2,3,6,8,12
Strange Brains and Genius, Quill, 19991,3
The Science of Aliens,. Basic Books, 19983,4,6
Spider Legs, TOR, 1998 (with Piers Anthony)
The Alien IQ Test, Basic Books, 19973,7,9
The Loom of God, Plenum, 19979
Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide, Wiley, 19961,2,8
Keys to Infinity, Wiley, 19951,2,3
Chaos in Wonderland, St. Martin's Press, 1994
Mazes for the Mind, St. Martin's Press, 19921
Computers and the Imagination, St. Martin's Press, 19919,10
Computers, Pattern, Chaos, and Beauty, St. Martin's Press, 19901,10
Neoreality science fiction series
Liquid Earth, Lighthouse Press, 2002
The Lobotomy Club, Lighthouse Press, 2002
Sushi Never Sleeps, Lighthouse Press, 2002
Egg Drop Soup, Lighthouse Press, 2002
Edited collections
Chaos and Fractals, Elsevier, 1998
Fractal Horizons, St. Martin's Press, 1996
Future Health: Computers & Medicine in the 21st Century, St. Martin's Press, 1995
Visualizing Biological Information, World Scientific, 1995
The Pattern Book: Fractals, Art, and Nature, World Scientific, 1995
Visions of the Future, St. Martin's Press, 1993
Frontiers of Scientific Visualization, Wiley, 1994
Spiral Symmetry, World Scientific, 1992
Foreign rights sales (codes for footnotes)
1 Japanese, 2 Chinese, 3 Korean, 4 Greek, 5 French, 6 Italian, 7 Portuguese, 8 Polish, 9 German, 10 UK, 11 Spanish, 12 Turkish