A Numerate Life
A Mathematician Explores the Vagaries of Life, His Own and Probably Yours
Seiten
2015
Prometheus Books (Verlag)
978-1-63388-118-1 (ISBN)
Prometheus Books (Verlag)
978-1-63388-118-1 (ISBN)
Employing intuitive ideas from mathematics, this quirky "meta-memoir" raises questions about our lives that most of us don't think to ask, but arguably should: What part of memory is reliable fact, what part creative embellishment? Which favorite presuppositions are unfounded, which statistically biased? By conjoining two opposing mindsets--the suspension of disbelief required in storytelling and the skepticism inherent in the scientific method--bestselling mathematician John Allen Paulos has created an unusual hybrid, a composite of personal memories and mathematical approaches to re-evaluating them.
Entertaining vignettes from Paulos's biography abound--ranging from a bullying math teacher and a fabulous collection of baseball cards to romantic crushes, a grandmother's petty larceny, and his quite unintended role in getting George Bush elected president in 2000. These vignettes serve as springboards to many telling perspectives: simple arithmetic puts life-long habits in a dubious new light; higher dimensional geometry helps us see that we're all rather peculiar; nonlinear dynamics explains the narcissism of small differences cascading into very different siblings; logarithms and exponentials yield insight on why we tend to become bored and jaded as we age; and there are tricks and jokes, probability and coincidences, and much more.
For fans of Paulos or newcomers to his work, this witty commentary on his life--and yours--is fascinating reading.
Entertaining vignettes from Paulos's biography abound--ranging from a bullying math teacher and a fabulous collection of baseball cards to romantic crushes, a grandmother's petty larceny, and his quite unintended role in getting George Bush elected president in 2000. These vignettes serve as springboards to many telling perspectives: simple arithmetic puts life-long habits in a dubious new light; higher dimensional geometry helps us see that we're all rather peculiar; nonlinear dynamics explains the narcissism of small differences cascading into very different siblings; logarithms and exponentials yield insight on why we tend to become bored and jaded as we age; and there are tricks and jokes, probability and coincidences, and much more.
For fans of Paulos or newcomers to his work, this witty commentary on his life--and yours--is fascinating reading.
John Allen Paulos is a professor of mathematics at Temple University and the author of eight previous books, including the best-selling Innumeracy and, most recently, Irreligion- A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up.
Erscheint lt. Verlag | 10.1.2016 |
---|---|
Sprache | englisch |
Maße | 155 x 228 mm |
Gewicht | 268 g |
Themenwelt | Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte |
Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik | |
Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Technikgeschichte | |
Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Allgemeines / Lexika | |
ISBN-10 | 1-63388-118-0 / 1633881180 |
ISBN-13 | 978-1-63388-118-1 / 9781633881181 |
Zustand | Neuware |
Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
Digitalisierung neu denken für eine gerechte Gesellschaft
Buch | Hardcover (2023)
Quadriga (Verlag)
20,00 €
Eine superschnelle Menschheitsgeschichte des digitalen Universums
Buch | Hardcover (2024)
Heyne (Verlag)
24,00 €
Vom Perceptron zum Deep Learning
Buch | Softcover (2022)
Springer Vieweg (Verlag)
19,99 €