That was a bit of a weird one. I enjoyed it but at the same time it felt like the author had two ideas for two different stories, but couldn't figure out how one began or how the other ended, so she just got some sellotape and stuck them together in the middle. It's a good book, but... disjointed.
I just think the ending comes out of nowhere, I see what you mean but to me it almost felt like something a bit M. Night Shyamalan, like it was this big twist. Maybe I wasn't clever enough to see it coming.
I also recently read a philosophy book called "The Craftsman" by Richard Sennet. I did get to the end of it but it reminded me of the reason that I never read philosophy books - they send me into a blind rage. It was quite interesting and all, but in the second chapter he was pontificating about Linux (always something of a risk for a non-technical author, to say the least) and made a shitload of confidently-stated factual errors that didn't really help to instil a sense that he had any idea what he was talking about. Then at the end of it he presented his core claim, noting that it was his most controversial idea in the entire book. This claim was basically "almost anybody can be good at doing something for its own sake" and I had to put the book down to do a double facepalm for several minutes.
I just think the ending comes out of nowhere, I see what you mean but to me it almost felt like something a bit M. Night Shyamalan, like it was this big twist. Maybe I wasn't clever enough to see it coming.
Interesting, as both a mathematician and engineer (non-practicing), I shall give it a read.