Other facts (which may require empirical verification): my name is Ben Orlin; I live in Saint Paul with my wife Taryn and our two daughters; I give occasional keynote lectures, and I have taught everyone from 11-year-olds to undergraduates — mostly math, but with occasional forays into Psychology, Biology, English, Theory of Knowledge, and even Earth Science (the latter to no one’s benefit, least of all the Earth’s).
One of my great pleasures has been getting to write four books about the power of mathematical ideas:
Math with Bad Drawings (2018) is a frenetic blue book about the many uses of math. It peaked at #4 on the Kindle nonfiction charts. Its goal is to rekindle your mathematical curiosity.
Change is the Only Constant (2019) is a lyrical red book about calculus. It has been translated into half a dozen languages. Its goal is to change the way you think about change.
Math Games with Bad Drawings (2022) is a whopping yellow book about pencil-and-paper games (and it’s also available as a nifty game kit). Award-winning game designer Dan Finkel called it “so good, I’m not even jealous.” Its goal is to get you — and the people around you — playing with math.
Math for English Majors (2024) is a pithy purple book about the language of math. I will be talking a lot about it in the months to come!
I can be found (with slowly mounting ambivalence) on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Or you can email me; I’m just the name of the blog at gmail. I love to hear from readers, whether you stumbled here accidentally or are my college roommate Michael Wayne. (Hey there, Michael Wayne!)