A mathematician reads the newspaper

Bibliographic Information

A mathematician reads the newspaper

John Allen Paulos

BasicBooks, c1995

Available at  / 5 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [205]-206) ) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

John Allen Paulos is a master at shedding mathematical lights on our everyday world:What exactly did Lani Guinier say about quotas?What is the probability of identifying a murderer through DNA testing?Which are the real risks to our health and which the phony ones?Employing the same fun-filled, user-friendly, and quirkily insightful approach that put Innumeracy on best-seller lists, Paulos now leads us through the pages of the daily newspaper, revealing the hidden mathematical angles of countless articles. From the Senate, the SATs, and sex to crime, celebrities, and cults, Paulos takes stories that may not seem to involve mathematics at all and demonstrates how mathematical navet can put readers at a distinct disadvantage. Whether hes using chaos theory to puncture economic and environmental predictions, applying logic and self-reference to clarify the hazards of spin doctoring and news compression, or employing arithmetic and common sense to give us a novel perspective on greed and relationships, Paulos never fails to entertain and enlighten. Even if you hated math in school, youll love the numerical vignettes in this book.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Politics, Economics, and the Nation
  • Local, Business, and Social Issues
  • Lifestyle, Spin, and Soft News
  • Science, Medicine, and the Environment
  • Food, Book Reviews, Sports, Obituaries.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

  • NCID
    BA25333255
  • ISBN
    • 0465043623
  • LCCN
    94048206
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    New York
  • Pages/Volumes
    xi, 212 p.
  • Size
    22 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
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