How not to be Wrong : : the Power of Mathematical Thinking

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Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	510 El	4-week checkout	Due 04-16-2024
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"In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us that math isn't confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do--the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It's a science of not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to the true meaning of information we take for granted: How early should you get to the airport? What does "public opinion" really represent? Why do tall parents have shorter children? Who really won Florida in 2000? And how likely are you, really, to develop cancer? How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind all of these questions and many more, using the mathematician's method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman--minus the jargon. Ellenberg pulls from history as well as from the latest theoretical developments to provide those not trained in math with the knowledge they need. "-- Provided by publisher.

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Mathematics as an extension of common sense. submitted by sVfGI7Glt2pz7GZgVB90 on August 10, 2019, 6:59pm Deals with many interesting mathematical thoughts, theories, and applications. But the book tends to ramble on. It's a 430 page book that should have been 250 pages. For example, the last chapter "How Mot to be Wrong" was basically 20 pages saying it's fine to say "I don't know." It was an thought-provoking but not unavoidably engaging book.