Coming soon:
Huge Numbers

Basic Books, April 2026

“Humanity has always been entranced by big numbers — the bigger the better. This fascinating exploration of the giants of the mathematical world is clear, informative, and immensely readable. Wonderful!”

– Ian Stewart

“A charming tour through the realm of the very, very, very numerous, from the ancient world through the distant future.” 

– Jordan Ellenberg

“Elwes provides a phenomenal scenic tour of googology (the study of huge numbers), covering everything from ancient Mayan and Babylonian numeral systems to the scale of the universe to the dizzyingly fast-growing functions of mathematical logic. I wish I had written this book.”

– Scott Aaronson

Dr Richard Elwes is a writer and Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Leeds in the UK.

YouTube playlist of Richard on Numberphile.

Blog Archive

  • What’s woolly and equivalent to the Axiom of Choice?*

    Here’s a paper [pdf] about mathematical humour. Most of it is a list of jokes: Q: Why didn’t Newton discover group theory? A: Because he wasn’t Abel. Q: What goes “Pieces of seven! Pieces…

  • Laws, exclusions, and middles

    What does Intuitionistic Logic have to do with Kate Moss’ drug use? A Neighborhood of Infinity explains.

  • RH ? NP

    Maybe it’s lucky Li’s proof of the Riemann Hypothesis didn’t work out, since… “…if a proof is found, it has the potential to lead to the undermining of current encryption methods, which depend on…

  • RH ≠ NP

    Maybe it’s lucky Li’s proof of the Riemann Hypothesis didn’t work out, since… “…if a proof is found, it has the potential to lead to the undermining of current encryption methods, which depend on…

  • Riemann Hypothesis

    It’s been proved! …or not. Or maybe it really has? Well, it’s just a pre-print, not yet peer-reviewed or published, so the sensible money’s got to be firmly on “not” for the time being.…

  • Book Review: Meta Maths, The Quest For Omega

    Gregory Chaitin’s Meta Maths is a short book, which meanders pleasantly through various topics: Biological Information (DNA), LISP, several proofs of the infinity of the primes, and the question of whether the universe is…

  • An infinitely bored librarian

    Matt, having read my recent articles about set-theory, feeds back: The best “real world” example of Russell’s paradox I’ve seen (I forget where now) is this: A librarian, bored with work, sets about making…

  • Cantor and Cohen: Infinite Investigators

    My two humble blog posts have grown into articles at Plus Magazine. Part 1: the Axiom of Choice Part 2: the Continuum Hypothesis

  • Paying too much at the pump? Then support the Windies

    Plus Magazine has proof positive that if you’re concerned about ever rising oil-prices, you should be cheering for the West Indies.