I wasn’t much of a reader during my high school and college years, but if I was, Infinite Powers by Steven Strogatz is a book that should have been at the top of my reading list. It would have made it a lot easier to get through my advanced math and science classes in high school, and it would have given me a solid foundation for what was to come while studying for my engineering degree in college.

Infinite Powers goes through origins of advanced mathematics, focusing on calculus. Strogatz show how math unlocks the secrets of nature and reveals the fundamental order and structure of the universe. He starts with ancient Greeks such as Acrhimedes and Euclid and proceeds to show how historical figures such as Netwon, Leibnez, Fermat, and Descartes built upon their foundation. The he explains how Einstein and others have used advanced mathematical concepts, calculus, and differential equation to explain and predict events, occurrences, and circumstances throughout the universe, whether on earth or in the cosmos.

I particularly liked how Strogatz takes complex topics such as infinity, the laws of motion, differential equations, and integrals and breaks them down into understandable topics using plain English. It not only makes these concepts easier to comprehend but also shows you how they can be used in practical real world applications. It answers the question that many people, including myself and my kids, have asked while studying math, “why do we need to learn these things?” If I had better understood the concepts and their practical application, I may have chosen to pay more attention in school!

More importantly, Strogatz shows how mathematics reveals the fundamental order of the universe. It was mind-blowing to see how fundamental mathematical concepts can explain the workings of things both on earth and in space. The workings are so orderly and so well structured that it makes it hard to dispute there is a higher power at work. It feels like we’re slowly discovering, through math, how the universe was created.

Overall, I enjoyed the book so much that I made it one of my suggested reads for 2024. While I don’t consider Infinite Powers one of my general Must Reads due to how intense and mind-bending it can be at times, I would consider it a must read for anyone interested in the origins of advanced mathematics and how it reveals the fundamental nature and order of the universe. And if you’re in high school or college, a reader, and studying math and science, Infinite Powers should help you to better understand these subjects, and it may even improve your grades.