Agnijo Banerjee was 17 when Scroll profiled him in August 2018, around the publication of Weird Maths, a general-interest mathematics book he wrote with his tutor, David Darling. Their goal was to make less familiar, sometimes counterintuitive mathematics approachable to readers without a maths background—not to produce a school textbook.
What makes the maths “weird”?
Banerjee’s answer was that the book explores mathematics people would not usually encounter at school. In a Scroll interview, he explained: “The title Weird Maths came about partly because this is the kind of maths that you wouldn’t be taught in school.” The emphasis is on ideas that can unsettle everyday intuitions, rather than on mathematics as a sequence of classroom exercises.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Weird Maths | $18.09 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Weird Math: A Teenage Genius and His Teacher Reveal the Strange Connections Between Math and... | $14.79 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Math Curse | $10.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Weirdest Maths: At the Frontiers of Reason | $17.38 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Jeff The Math Pigeon | $14.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The profile introduces questions about buttered toast, whether people could perceive a fourth dimension, the shape of the universe, teleportation, and whether extraterrestrial listeners could understand human music. These are examples raised in the profile, not a complete contents list. The interview also discusses infinity, prime numbers, large numbers, and the mathematics of music.
Who is the book for?
Banerjee described the intended reader as “the intelligent layperson” without a mathematics background. He said early drafts were too technical and had to be simplified. The publisher likewise presents the book as a popular introduction that uses puzzles and paradoxes to explore mathematics, everyday life, chance, and infinity. Its approach is general-interest nonfiction, not a course text.
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That distinction matters for readers deciding whether the book fits. It is framed around intriguing questions and connections, rather than a stated curriculum, formal progression of lessons, or promise of measurable learning outcomes. Banerjee also advised readers who fear maths to understand the problem before reaching for a calculator.
How Banerjee and Darling collaborated
In the Scroll interview, Banerjee said he usually wrote the mathematical core, while Darling expanded it to make the ideas more accessible. He described the mathematics-of-music chapter as entirely Darling’s work and the prime-number chapter as mostly his own. The two met weekly while writing. This division of work is Banerjee’s account of their collaboration.
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The title and the US editions
The Scroll profile spells the title Weird Maths. The US publisher, Basic Books, uses Weird Math: A Teenage Genius and His Teacher Reveal the Strange Connections Between Math and Everyday Life. The different spellings refer to the profile’s form and the US publisher’s edition; use the publisher’s title when identifying that edition.
| US edition | Publisher-listed details |
|---|---|
| Hardcover | ISBN 9781541644786; 320 pages; on sale April 17, 2018 |
| Ebook | ISBN 9781541644793; 304 pages |
These details are from the Basic Books listing. Price, stock, and availability can vary by retailer and region. See the publisher’s US hardcover listing to identify the edition by its official title and ISBN.
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What the 2018 profile says about Banerjee
Scroll reported that Banerjee was 17 at the time of its August 12, 2018 profile and that a Mensa test he took at age 12 produced a score of 162. Mid-Day repeated the score in a June 2018 interview, but the sources do not provide the underlying test record or independently establish comparisons sometimes made with Einstein and Hawking. The score should therefore be understood as a reported historical detail, not as independently verified evidence of a particular ranking or comparison.
The profile’s age and other biographical details describe Banerjee at that time. They do not establish his present education or career. The book and the interview are the basis for understanding his contribution here: a coauthor helping shape a popular introduction to less familiar mathematics.
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