“Pickover’s lively, provocative travel guide takes readers into the fascinating realm of mystic math, from perfectly strange numbers to fractured geometries and other curious nooks and crannies of ancient worlds and modern times.”
—Ivars Peterson, Science News
“Chock full of mathematical treats, The Loom of God takes you on a trip which explores ideas in a totally non-threatening, enjoyable format. … A must for the I-hate-math person as well as the mathematical explorer.”
—Theoni Pappas, author of The Joy of Mathematics
“From Pythagoras and his strange beliefs (‘Don’t eat food that causes you to flatulate’) to Goedel’s mathematical proof of the existence of God, Pickover guides the reader through the history of metaphysical logic.… Playful and surreal, The Loom of God is accessible to anyone who’s mastered long division.”
—Discover magazine
“Thought-provoking, entertaining, eerie, magical, and lively are words that describe The Loom of God, which weaves number theory, geometry, and computer power into a beautiful tapestry of numerology, fractals, and a fantasy of our world’s future. Distinctive … dazzling … unconventional … great for recreational enrichment reading.”
—Mathematics Teacher
“Without peer as an idea machine, Cliff Pickover proves equally adept at writing. The Loom of God is a well-crafted piece of mathematical science fiction.”
—Charles Ashbacher, Journal of Recreational Mathematics
“In The Loom of God, Cliff Pickover, in his irrepressible style, frolics through a forest of mathematical curiosities and historical tidbits, all skillfully woven into a futuristic fantasy, leaving you to wonder where he learned all that.”
—Julien C. Sprott, Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison
“This book mixes science and philosophy with a large dash of humor, a cupful of religion, a teaspoon of whimsy.… Pickover hops from Pythagoras, the Incas, Stonehenge, Kabala, chakras, St. Augustine, and fractals with abandon.… By the way, if you’d like to note it in your planner, mathematics tell us the End of the World is scheduled for August 15, 2126. Be there or be square.”
—American Reporter
“I can’t imagine anybody whose mind won’t be stretched by [Pickover’s] books …”
—Arthur C. Clarke
“Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both,”
—WIRED
“Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas,”
—Christian Science Monitor
“Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he stretches the limits of computers, art, and thought.”
—Los Angeles Times
“In recent years, Pickover has taken up the helm once worn by Isaac Asimov as the most compelling popular explainer of cutting-edge scientific ideas.”
—In Pittsburgh
“Pickover just seems to exist in more dimensions than the rest of us.”
—Ian Stewart, Scientific American
“Pickover is van Leeuwenhoek’s 20th century equivalent.”
—OMNI
“A perpetual idea machine, Clifford Pickover is one of the most creative, original thinkers in the world today.”
—journal of Recreational Mathematics
“Clifford A. Pickover is the heir apparent to Carl Sagan: no one else does better popular science writing than Pickover.”
—Robert J. Sawyer, Nebula Award winner, author of Calculating God
“Add two doses of Isaac Asimov, and one dose each of Martin Gardner and Carl Sagan, and you get Clifford Pickover, one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking writers of our time.”
—Michael Shermer, Skeptic