Numb and Number
How to Avoid Being Mystified by the Mathematics of Modern Life
Will be published approx. on 5. November 2020
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-83895-084-2 (ISBN)
Description
'A wise, witty and insightful guide to clear thinking amid a deluge of percentages and probabilities.' Ian Stewart
Like it or not, our lives are dominated by mathematics. Our daily diet of news regales us with statistical forecasts, opinion polls, risk assessments, inflation figures, weather and climate predictions and all sorts of political decisions and advice backed up by supposedly accurate numbers. Most of us do not even pause and question such figures even to ask what they really mean and whether they raise more questions than they answer.
In this simple guide for anyone numbed by numbers, William Hartston reveals with clarity and humour why the figures being flung at us may not tell the whole story. Along the way he explains commonly misused mathematical terms, solves everyday mathematical problems and shows how to steer a safe path through the minefield of mathematics that surrounds us.
Like it or not, our lives are dominated by mathematics. Our daily diet of news regales us with statistical forecasts, opinion polls, risk assessments, inflation figures, weather and climate predictions and all sorts of political decisions and advice backed up by supposedly accurate numbers. Most of us do not even pause and question such figures even to ask what they really mean and whether they raise more questions than they answer.
In this simple guide for anyone numbed by numbers, William Hartston reveals with clarity and humour why the figures being flung at us may not tell the whole story. Along the way he explains commonly misused mathematical terms, solves everyday mathematical problems and shows how to steer a safe path through the minefield of mathematics that surrounds us.
Reviews / Votes
If you're not one of the lucky few who can say, "Oh, mathematics was my best subject at school," then you might find yourself stumped by the news, or personal finance, or chaos and catastrophe (yes, William Hartston shows us there's maths involved there, too). Luckily, Numb and Number is able to explain these things and more, in a way that's easy to understand and even enjoyable to read. * BBC Science Focus * A wise, witty, and insightful guide to clear thinking amid a deluge of percentages and probabilities. Learn to spot the fake formulas and the spurious statistics. Up to 100% of readers will find this book utterly fascinating. Recommended by 92.53% of mathematicians. -- Ian Stewart, author of Do Dice Play God?More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 220 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
464 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83895-084-2 (9781838950842)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2020
Atlantic Books
€13.99
Available for download
Person
William Hartston is a Cambridge-educated mathematician and industrial psychologist. Between 1962 and 1987 he played chess competitively, becoming an international master and winning the British chess championship in 1973 and 1975. He runs competitions in creative thinking at the annual Mind Sports Olympiad, writes the off-beat Beachcomber column for the Daily Express, where he is also the opera critic, and is the author of several books on chess, numbers, humour and trivia, including The Things That Nobody Knows and Even More Things That Nobody Knows. He is also one of the viewers on Channel 4's Gogglebox.
Content
1: The Number of Our Days 2: Surveying the Scene 3: Risk and Behaviour 4: The Mathematics of Sport 5: Saved You! 6: Numbers Large and Small 7: The Insignificance of Significance 8: Cause and Effect 9: Percentages and More Misleading Mathematics 10: Chaotic Butterflies 11: Torpedoes, Toilets and True Love 12: Formula Milking 13: Monkey Maths 14: Pandemic Pandemonium