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How Math Explains the World: A Guide to the Power of Numbers, from Car Repair to Modern Physics - Hardcover
In How Math Explains the World, mathematician Stein reveals how seemingly arcane mathematical investigations and discoveries have led to bigger, more world-shaking insights into the nature of our world. In the four main sections of the book, Stein tells the stories of the mathematical thinkers who discerned some of the most fundamental aspects of our universe. From their successes and failures, delusions, and even duels, the trajectories of their innovations—and their impact on society—are traced in this fascinating narrative. Quantum mechanics, space-time, chaos theory and the workings of complex systems, and the impossibility of a "perfect" democracy are all here. Stein's book is both mind-bending and practical, as he explains the best way for a salesman to plan a trip, examines why any thought you could have is imbedded in the number π , and—perhaps most importantly—answers one of the modern world's toughest questions: why the garage can never get your car repaired on time.
Friendly, entertaining, and fun, How Math Explains the World is the first book by one of California's most popular math teachers, a veteran of both "math for poets" and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies. And it's perfect for any reader wanting to know how math makes both science and the world tick.
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About the Author:
From Publishers Weekly:
James D. Stein is a professor of mathematics at California State University, Long Beach. A graduate of Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley, he lives in Redondo Beach, California.
Stein, a mathematics professor at California State University, explores the application of math to problem solving in the everyday, explaining tricky concepts and developing elegant algorithms for everything from scheduling auto repair to organizing a closet. He also demonstrates the power of the solution: "We advance, both as individuals and as a species, by solving problems. As a rule of thumb, the reward for solving problems increases with the difficulty." Stein blends math history and complex theories with jokes in a seamless manner while looking into everything from quantum mechanics to voting, while still realizing the limitations of his field-"without experiments and measurement these tools mathetmatics are essentially useless"-and its more whimsical possibilities: "We do not yet have the mathematical objects needed to discuss art, or beauty, or love; but that does not mean that they do not exist." Stein's work, mathematically rigorous but with minimal equations, will appeal to both casual and serious fans of math or physics, as well as those who take keen interest in problem solving.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherSmithsonian
- Publication date2008
- ISBN 10 0061241768
- ISBN 13 9780061241765
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages288
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How Math Explains the World: A Guide to the Power of Numbers, from Car Repair to Modern Physics
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How Math Explains the World: A Guide to the Power of Numbers, from Car Repair to Modern Physics
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ISBN 13: 9780061241765
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How Math Explains the World: A Guide to the Power of Numbers, from Car Repair to Modern Physics
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ISBN 13: 9780061241765
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How Math Explains the World: A Guide to the Power of Numbers, from Car Repair to Modern Physics
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ISBN 13: 9780061241765
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How Math Explains the World: A Guide to the Power of Numbers, from Car Repair to Modern Physics
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