I recently started reading a book about mathematics written by a mathematician. The title and description intrigued me, but so far, as I’m just at the beginning, I’m not particularly impressed. This got me thinking—how do mathematicians become mathematicians? When does their love for the subject begin, and why?
I don’t consider myself a “true” mathematician, although my degree officially labels me as a “mathematician-system programmer.” However, I fell in love with mathematics back in my school years. Two factors played a significant role in this: my math teacher, who later became my homeroom teacher, and several books by the remarkable writer Vladimir Levshin.
Getting hold of Levshin’s books wasn’t easy, but they were available in libraries. I read all of his books I could find (around ten). His most famous work, in my opinion, is the trilogy about the Magister of Scattered Sciences. That trilogy itself, however, is part of a larger cycle centered around a character named Nolik (which means ‘a Small Zero’ in Russian).
The books are likely intended for students in grades 3–6 (this is my personal estimation based on childhood impressions). They are written in the style of a fairy tale adventure, comparable in tone to The Lost Time Fairy Tale or Old Man Hottabych. The key difference is that Levshin’s main magical characters are personified numbers, primarily Nolik, after whom the entire series is now named.
Through the lens of adventure, Vladimir Levshin introduces young readers to mathematics, presenting it through specific scenarios that turn out to be intriguing mathematical puzzles. Not just mathematical ones, but also logical challenges (and in the USSR, logic wasn’t taught as a separate subject in schools, except briefly in a few experimental schools toward the end). I must say that after reading Levshin’s books, many IQ test questions no longer seemed so confusing or difficult.
But let’s talk a bit about the author himself. Vladimir Levshin was born in 1904 in Baku, the son of a Russian millionaire. However, the October Revolution quickly rendered all millionaires undesirable. Personally, I find it remarkable that a 13-year-old boy, the son of a millionaire, managed to survive and stay in Russia. And even more so that he lived to the age of 79.
But proving his worth was no easy task for the boy—not only did he have to start from scratch, but he also had to constantly overcome the prejudice against him as the son of a former bourgeois. He tried many professions, starting with menial labor. From a young age, he loved music and dabbled in theater, but eventually, he decided to pursue the exact sciences—not just as a student but soon as a mathematics teacher. At the same time, he tried his hand at journalism and began writing children’s stories. At some point, he decided to combine his love for mathematics with writing (it’s said that writer Mikhail Lvovsky suggested this to him). This led to his first “mathematical fairy tale,” Three Days in Karlicania. The story was an instant success and forever defined Vladimir Levshin’s career.
It’s also worth mentioning that many of his later books were co-authored with his wife, Emiliya Alexandrova, who also served as a prototype for the character Nolik, the hero of many of his stories.
As I mentioned earlier, Vladimir Levshin’s books weren’t just entertaining adventures—they fostered a love for mathematics and logic (and even music, in one book). They helped show that these subjects aren’t dry or boring school disciplines but rather beautiful and even fascinating sciences.
In any case, I owe a lot to these books for eventually leading me to my current profession.
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to find Vladimir Levshin’s books nowadays. Most of them were reprinted several years ago, some even featuring the classic illustrations from the first editions, occasionally recolored. However, there are no official electronic versions, and physical copies are largely unavailable. Perhaps this is because children, in general, read less these days—and especially books about mathematics.
But if you want your child to develop, if not a love, then at least a respect for these subjects, find them Levshin’s books. From my own experience, I can say they’re an excellent way to achieve that.
