The Calculus of Friendship: What a Teacher and a Student Learned about Life while Corresponding about Math

By Steven Strogatz

Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Science & Math

Mathematician Steven Strogatz tells the story of his thirty-year correspondence with his high school calculus teacher, Don Joffray. Their letters began as an exchange of mathematical puzzles and problems, but over time they came to share their lives, including success, family tragedy and illness. Strogatz shows how mathematics became the language of a deep friendship, and how teacher and student came to learn from each other.

Recommended by 1 person

• Shane Parrish: “The subtitle of this book is ‘What a Teacher and a Student Learned about Life while Corresponding about Math.’ Intrigued by this, I gave it a go.”