Download or read book Mathematics and the Unexpected written by Ivar Ekeland and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1990-01-15 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Not the least unexpected thing about Mathematics and the Unexpected is that a real mathematician should write not just a literate work, but a literary one."—Ian Stewart, New Scientist "In this brief, elegant treatise, assessable to anyone who likes to think, Ivar Ekelund explains some philosophical implications of recent mathematics. He examines randomness, the geometry involved in making predictions, and why general trends are easy to project (it will snow in January) but particulars are practically impossible (it will snow from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the 21st)."—Village Voice
Download or read book The Unexpected Hanging written by Martin Gardner and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Unexpected Expectations written by Leonard M. Wapner and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2012-06-04 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unexpected Expectations: The Curiosities of a Mathematical Crystal Ball explores how paradoxical challenges involving mathematical expectation often necessitate a reexamination of basic premises. The author takes you through mathematical paradoxes associated with seemingly straightforward applications of mathematical expectation and shows how these unexpected contradictions may push you to reconsider the legitimacy of the applications. The book requires only an understanding of basic algebraic operations and includes supplemental mathematical background in chapter appendices. After a history of probability theory, it introduces the basic laws of probability as well as the definition and applications of mathematical expectation/expected value (E). The remainder of the text covers unexpected results related to mathematical expectation, including: The roles of aversion and risk in rational decision making A class of expected value paradoxes referred to as envelope problems Parrondo’s paradox—how negative (losing) expectations can be combined to give a winning result Problems associated with imperfect recall Non-zero-sum games, such as the game of chicken and the prisoner’s dilemma Newcomb’s paradox—a great philosophical paradox of free will Benford’s law and its use in computer design and fraud detection While useful in areas as diverse as game theory, quantum mechanics, and forensic science, mathematical expectation generates paradoxes that frequently leave questions unanswered yet reveal interesting surprises. Encouraging you to embrace the mysteries of mathematics, this book helps you appreciate the applications of mathematical expectation, "a statistical crystal ball." Listen to an interview with the author on NewBooksinMath.com.
Download or read book Mathematical Curiosities written by Alfred S. Posamentier and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most people agree that math is important, but few would say it's fun. This book will show you that the subject you learned to hate in high school can be as entertaining as a witty remark, as engrossing as the mystery novel you can't put down--in short, fun! As veteran math educators Posamentier and Lehmann demonstrate, when you realize that doing math can be enjoyable, you open a door into a world of unexpected insights while learning an important skill. The authors illustrate the point with many easily understandable examples. One of these is what mathematicians call the "Ruth-Aaron pair" (714 and 715), named after the respective career home runs of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. These two consecutive integers contain a host of interesting features, one of which is that their prime factors when added together have the same sum. The authors also explore the unusual aspects of such numbers as 11 and 18, which have intriguing properties usually overlooked by standard math curriculums. And to make you a better all-around problem solver, a variety of problems is presented that appear simple but have surprisingly clever solutions. If math has frustrated you over the years, this delightful approach will teach you many things you thought were beyond your reach, while conveying the key message that math can and should be anything but boring.
Download or read book The Math of Life and Death written by Kit Yates and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Few of us really appreciate the full power of math--the extent to which its influence is not only in every office and every home, but also in every courtroom and hospital ward. In this ... book, Kit Yates explores the true stories of life-changing events in which the application--or misapplication--of mathematics has played a critical role: patients crippled by faulty genes and entrepreneurs bankrupted by faulty algorithms; innocent victims of miscarriages of justice; and the unwitting victims of software glitches"--Publisher marketing.
Download or read book The Broken Dice and Other Mathematical Tales of Chance written by Ivar Ekeland and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1996-06-15 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemplating the randomness of nature, Ekeland extends his consideration of the catastrophe theory of the universe begun in Mathematics and the Unexpected, drawing upon rich literary sources and current topics in math and physics such as chaos theory, information theory, and particle physics. Line drawings.
Download or read book Republic of Numbers written by David Lindsay Roberts and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-08 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Republic of Numbers will appeal to anyone who is interested in learning how mathematics has intertwined with American history.
Download or read book The Mathematics of Games written by John D. Beasley and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2013-01-18 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mind-exercising and thought-provoking."—New Scientist If playing games is natural for humans, analyzing games is equally natural for mathematicians. Even the simplest of games involves the fundamentals of mathematics, such as figuring out the best move or the odds of a certain chance event. This entertaining and wide-ranging guide demonstrates how simple mathematical analysis can throw unexpected light on games of every type—games of chance, games of skill, games of chance and skill, and automatic games. Just how random is a card shuffle or a throw of the dice? Is bluffing a valid poker strategy? How can you tell if a puzzle is unsolvable? How large a role does luck play in games like golf and soccer? This book examines each of these issues and many others, along with the general principles behind such classic puzzles as peg solitaire and Rubik's cube. Lucid, instructive, and full of surprises, it will fascinate mathematicians and gamesters alike.
Download or read book What s Happening in the Mathematical Sciences written by Barry Cipra and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematicians like to point out that mathematics is universal. In spite of this, most people continue to view it as either mundane (balancing a checkbook) or mysterious (cryptography). This fifth volume of the What's Happening series contradicts that view by showing that mathematics is indeed found everywhere-in science, art, history, and our everyday lives. Here is some of what you'll find in this volume: Mathematics and Science Mathematical biology: Mathematics was key tocracking the genetic code. Now, new mathematics is needed to understand the three-dimensional structure of the proteins produced from that code. Celestial mechanics and cosmology: New methods have revealed a multitude of solutions to the three-body problem. And other new work may answer one of cosmology'smost fundamental questions: What is the size and shape of the universe? Mathematics and Everyday Life Traffic jams: New models are helping researchers understand where traffic jams come from-and maybe what to do about them! Small worlds: Researchers have found a short distance from theory to applications in the study of small world networks. Elegance in Mathematics Beyond Fermat's Last Theorem: Number theorists are reaching higher ground after Wiles' astounding 1994 proof: new developments inthe elegant world of elliptic curves and modular functions. The Millennium Prize Problems: The Clay Mathematics Institute has offered a million dollars for solutions to seven important and difficult unsolved problems. These are just some of the topics of current interest that are covered in thislatest volume of What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences. The book has broad appeal for a wide spectrum of mathematicians and scientists, from high school students through advanced-level graduates and researchers.
Download or read book Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics written by Alfred S. Posamentier and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2013-08-13 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two veteran math educators demonstrate how some "magnificent mistakes" had profound consequences for our understanding of mathematics' key concepts. In the nineteenth century, English mathematician William Shanks spent fifteen years calculating the value of pi, setting a record for the number of decimal places. Later, his calculation was reproduced using large wooden numerals to decorate the cupola of a hall in the Palais de la Découverte in Paris. However, in 1946, with the aid of a mechanical desk calculator that ran for seventy hours, it was discovered that there was a mistake in the 528th decimal place. Today, supercomputers have determined the value of pi to trillions of decimal places. This is just one of the amusing and intriguing stories about mistakes in mathematics in this layperson's guide to mathematical principles. In another example, the authors show that when we "prove" that every triangle is isosceles, we are violating a concept not even known to Euclid - that of "betweenness." And if we disregard the time-honored Pythagorean theorem, this is a misuse of the concept of infinity. Even using correct procedures can sometimes lead to absurd - but enlightening - results. Requiring no more than high-school-level math competency, this playful excursion through the nuances of math will give you a better grasp of this fundamental, all-important science.
Download or read book Your Business Math Series written by Sonya Shafer and published by . This book was released on 2007-07 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Greek Mathematical Thought and the Origin of Algebra written by Jacob Klein and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Important study focuses on the revival and assimilation of ancient Greek mathematics in the 13th-16th centuries, via Arabic science, and the 16th-century development of symbolic algebra. 1968 edition. Bibliography.
Download or read book The Gentle Art of Mathematics written by Dan Pedoe and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-12-27 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lighthearted work uses a variety of practical applications and puzzles to take a look at today's mathematical trends. In nine chapters, Professor Pedoe covers mathematical games, chance and choice, automatic thinking, and more.
Download or read book The Mathematics of Love written by Hannah Fry and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A mathematician pulls back the curtain and reveals the hidden patterns--from dating sites to divorce, sex to marriage--behind the rituals of love ... applying mathematical formulas to the most common yet complex questions pertaining to love: What's the chance of finding love? What's the probability that it will last? How do online dating algorithms work, exactly? Can game theory help us decide who to approach in a bar? At what point in your dating life should you settle down?"--Amazon.com.
Download or read book The Great Mathematical Problems written by Ian Stewart and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2013-03-07 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are some mathematical problems whose significance goes beyond the ordinary - like Fermat's Last Theorem or Goldbach's Conjecture - they are the enigmas which define mathematics. The Great Mathematical Problems explains why these problems exist, why they matter, what drives mathematicians to incredible lengths to solve them and where they stand in the context of mathematics and science as a whole. It contains solved problems - like the Poincar Conjecture, cracked by the eccentric genius Grigori Perelman, who refused academic honours and a million-dollar prize for his work, and ones which, like the Riemann Hypothesis, remain baffling after centuries. Stewart is the guide to this mysterious and exciting world, showing how modern mathematicians constantly rise to the challenges set by their predecessors, as the great mathematical problems of the past succumb to the new techniques and ideas of the present.
Download or read book The Best of All Possible Worlds written by Ivar Ekeland and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2007-10-31 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Optimists believe this is the best of all possible worlds, and pessimists fear that might really be the case. There was a time, during the 17th and 18th centuries, when scientists and mathematicians felt they could provide the answer. This book is their story.
Download or read book Embracing Math written by Deanna Pecaski McLennan and published by . This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gain confidence in your ability to incorporate math into all aspects of your early learning program.
