Forget dry history. A Budget of Paradoxes is like stumbling into the world's weirdest flea market of ideas, curated by a very patient, very amused mathematician.

The Story

There's no traditional plot. Instead, Augustus De Morgan, a respected scholar, spent years collecting letters, pamphlets, and books from what he called 'paradoxers'—ordinary folks and educated men alike who were absolutely certain they had solved the great unsolvable problems. We're talking about people who mailed him 100-page proofs that pi is exactly 3.2, or that the Earth is actually the inside of a hollow sphere. The 'story' is De Morgan presenting their arguments, often in their own grandiose words, and then gently (or not so gently) pointing out where their logic goes off the rails.

Why You Should Read It

This book is a joy because it's not just about being right. De Morgan has a real curiosity about the psychology behind these fixations. He shows how pride, a misunderstanding of terms, and a desperate desire for fame can trap someone in a fantasy. Reading it today, you'll have constant moments of recognition. The confident tone, the dismissal of experts, the single-minded obsession—it all feels incredibly familiar. It's a mirror held up to our own age of misinformation, but with the charming, verbose style of the 1800s.

Final Verdict

Perfect for history buffs with a sense of humor, fans of oddball trivia, and anyone who needs a comforting laugh about the timeless human capacity for stubborn error. It's not a math book; it's a study of passion, ego, and the fine line between genius and nonsense. Dip into a chapter at a time and marvel at the fact that people have been confidently wrong on the internet for centuries—they just used the postal service.