The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives


Leonard Mlodinow - 2008
    From the classroom to the courtroom and from financial markets to supermarkets, Mlodinow's intriguing and illuminating look at how randomness, chance, and probability affect our daily lives will intrigue, awe, and inspire.

Thinking In Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math


Daniel Tammet - 2012
    In Tammet's world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes, everyday examples, and ruminations on history, literature, and more, Tammet allows us to share his unique insights and delight in the way numbers, fractions, and equations underpin all our lives. Inspired by the complexity of snowflakes, Anne Boleyn's eleven fingers, or his many siblings, Tammet explores questions such as why time seems to speed up as we age, whether there is such a thing as an average person, and how we can make sense of those we love. Thinking In Numbers will change the way you think about math and fire your imagination to see the world with fresh eyes.

Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences


John Allen Paulos - 1988
    Dozens of examples in innumeracy show us how it affects not only personal economics and travel plans, but explains mis-chosen mates, inappropriate drug-testing, and the allure of pseudo-science.

Schaum's Outline of Mathematical Economics


Edward T. Dowling - 1992
    Students know that Schaum's delivers the goods—in faster learning curves,better test scores,and higher grades!If you don't have a lot of time but want to excel in class,this book helps you: Brush up before tests; Find answers fast; Study quickly and more effectively; Get the big picture without spending hours poring over dull texts Schaum's Outlines give you the information teachers expect you to know in a handy and succinct format—without overwhelming you with unnecessary details. You get a complete overview of the subject—and no distracting minutiae. Plus,you get plenty of practice exercises to test your skill. Compatible with any classroom text,Schaum's lets you study at your own pace and reminds you of all the important facts you need to remember—fast! And Schaum's is so complete it's the perfect tool for preparing for graduate or professional exams! Students of mathematical economics apply complex formulas—a challenging task that even the best students find daunting. But this Schaum's guide demystifies tough problems and gives you plenty of fully worked examples! Chapters include: Review. Economic Applications of Graphs and Equations. The Derivative and the Rules of Differentiation. Uses of the Derivative in Mathematics and Economics. Calculus of Multivariable Functions. Calculus of Multivariable Functions in Economics. Exponential and LogarithmicFunctions. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions in Economics. Differentiation of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions. The Fundamentals of Linear (or Matrix) Algebra. Matrix Inversion. Special Determinants and Matrices and Their Use in Economics. Linear Programming: A Graphic Approach. Linear Programming: The Simplex Algorithm. Linear Programming: The Dual. Integral Calculus: The Indefinite Integral. Integral Calculus: The Definite Integral. Differential Equations. Difference Equations. Second-Order Differential Equations and Difference Equations. The Calculus of Variations

The Changeling


Gail Gallant - 2019
    A year later, she was reborn. Or so her mother said.The crash occurred on a July night in 1955. The truck hit the Gallant family's car head-on; a few weeks later, newborn baby Gail died from her injuries. Mad with grief, her mother prayed feverishly for Gail's return, convinced that God would bring her child back to her. And when she gave birth within a year to a baby girl who looked identical to her lost child, she believed her prayers had been answered.She named that newborn baby Gail.In this haunting memoir about having and losing faith, Gail Gallant recounts her awe-inspiring true story of life as a changeling--a child born to replace her deceased baby sister. A middle child in a large Catholic family, Gail embraced the belief that she was especially anointed, a status that was reinforced by her stern, devout mother and distant, hard-drinking father. Babies sometimes die, after all, but she was the one that God had chosen to bring back to life.Eventually, this special status--the feeling that she had been singled out by God, and just as importantly, by her mother--became a source of secret anxiety for Gail. Doubt began to cast its shadow. As she grew up, questions plagued her: Why did God save her? What did he want in return? And what if she couldn't live up to his--or her mother's--expectations? What if she wasn't so special after all? Or worse, what if she was a mere imposter, only pretending to be the first Gail, whose life she now lived?For this changeling child with a tortured soul, finding her own identity meant wrestling with sainthood and sin alike. As she rewrote her origin story, Gail battled blinding depression and loss of faith. Ultimately, she discovered her own sense of what is extraordinary in becoming simply herself.

50 Mathematical Ideas You Really Need to Know


Tony Crilly - 2007
    Who invented zero? Why are there 60 seconds in a minute? Can a butterfly's wings really cause a storm on the far side of the world? In 50 concise essays, Professor Tony Crilly explains the mathematical concepts that allow use to understand and shape the world around us.

Gametek: The Math and Science of Gaming


Geoffrey Engelstein - 2018
    Connecting games to math, science, and psychology, GameTek has grown to be one of the most popular parts of the show.This volume commemorates the anniversary with a collection of over seventy of the best segments, many with annotations and illustrations.With chapters on everything from Rock, Paper, Scissors to the Prisoner’s Dilemma to Player Engagement to Quasicrystals to Buddha’s Forbidden Games, GameTek is sure to delight not just game designers and players, but anyone who wants to learn about the world from a new perspective.Sections:• Game Theory• Math• Psychology• Science• Game Mechanics• Psychology Games• HistoryFrom the first time I heard it, the GameTek segment in The Dice Tower podcast became my favorite part of the show. Listening to Geoff is like going to your favorite lesson with your favorite teacher. He teaches about games (yay!) and does it in a very interesting way with lots of examples. He does amazing stuff. He knows about the construction of games, he knows the theory, he knows all that stuff behind the scenes that we gamers do not see when just playing a game and having fun.Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal GamesThere are many hobby game 'experts' out there, dying to give you their opinion on how the industry works, how games work, what types of games are best, and so on. Geoff Engelstein is the expert that requires your attention. He is a scholar of games, and his research on games and other principles that apply to gaming is matched by none.Stephen Buonocore, Stronghold GamesOver the years, I’ve listened to a lot of people talk about board games, yet the short snippets that Geoff puts out are the ones that I find myself thinking about in the quiet of the night. His are the segments that you laugh at and say, “I have NO idea what you are talking about” — but later on use to show people just how intellectual you are.Tom Vasel, The Dice Tower

FREE Weights and Measures Study Guide: Conversion of over 1,000 units including Length, Area, Volume, Speed, Force, Energy, Electricity, Viscosity, Temperature, & more


MobileReference - 2007
    You will use it from high school to college and beyond. The full version is absolutely FREE. Features Conversion of over 1,000 units. Metric, English, and US customary systems. Length, Area, Volume, Speed, Force, Energy, Electricity, Viscosity, Temperature, and more. List of powers of 10 prefixes. Explanation of SI writing style. Approximate conversion of units. Clear and concise explanations. Difficult concepts are explained in simple terms. Navigate from Table of Contents or search for words or phrases. Add bookmarks and annotation. Access the guide anytime, anywhere - at home, on the train, in the subway. Use your down time to prepare for an exam. Always have the guide available for a quick reference. Indispensable resource for technical and life science students. The full version is absolutely FREE. FREE updates. Table of Contents Conversion of units: Length: Definition | Conversion Area: Definition | 2-D Formulae | 3-D Formulae | Conversion Volume: Definition | Formulae | Conversion Angle: Definition | Conversion Mass: Definition | Conversion Time: Definition | Conversion Speed: Definition | Conversion Acceleration: Definition | Conversion Force: Definition | Conversion Pressure or mechanical stress: Definition | Conversion Energy, work, or heat: Definition | Conversion Power: Definition | Conversion Angular momentum: Definition | Conversion Electricity: Current | Charge | Resistance | Voltage | Formulae | Conversion Viscosity: Definition | Conversion Information entropy: Definition | Conversion Temperature: Definition | Conversion Approximate conversion of units History: Systems of measurement | History of measurement Metric system (SI): Definition | SI writing style | Powers of 10 prefixes Other Systems: English system | Imperial unit | United States customary units | Comparison of the Imperial and U.S. customary systems

Understanding Analysis


Stephen Abbott - 2000
    The aim of a course in real analysis should be to challenge and improve mathematical intuition rather than to verify it. The philosophy of this book is to focus attention on questions which give analysis its inherent fascination.

How to Think Like a Mathematician


Kevin Houston - 2009
    Working through the book you will develop an arsenal of techniques to help you unlock the meaning of definitions, theorems and proofs, solve problems, and write mathematics effectively. All the major methods of proof - direct method, cases, induction, contradiction and contrapositive - are featured. Concrete examples are used throughout, and you'll get plenty of practice on topics common to many courses such as divisors, Euclidean algorithms, modular arithmetic, equivalence relations, and injectivity and surjectivity of functions. The material has been tested by real students over many years so all the essentials are covered. With over 300 exercises to help you test your progress, you'll soon learn how to think like a mathematician.

New SYLLABUS Mathematics 3; 6th Edition


Teh Keng Seng
    

Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry


George F. Simmons - 1981
    . . Algebra's importance lies in the student's future. . . as essential preparation for the serious study of science, engineering, economics, or for more advanced types of mathematics. . . The primary importance of trigonometry is not in its applications to surveying and navigation, or in making computations about triangles, but rather in the mathematical description of vibrations, rotations, and periodic phenomena of all kinds, including light, sound, alternating currents, and the orbits of the planets around the sun. In this brief, clearly written book, the essentials of geometry, algebra, and trigonometry are pulled together into three complementary and convenient small packages, providing an excellent preview and review for anyone who wishes to prepare to master calculus with a minimum of misunderstanding and wasted time and effort. Students and other readers will find here all they need to pull them through.

Solving Mathematical Problems: A Personal Perspective


Terence Tao - 2006
    Covering number theory, algebra, analysis, Euclidean geometry, and analytic geometry, Solving Mathematical Problems includes numerous exercises and model solutions throughout. Assuming only a basic level of mathematics, the text is ideal for students of 14 years and above in pure mathematics.

Finding Zero: A Mathematician's Odyssey to Uncover the Origins of Numbers


Amir D. Aczel - 2015
    Virtually everything in our lives is digital, numerical, or quantified. The story of how and where we got these numerals, which we so depend on, has for thousands of years been shrouded in mystery. Finding Zero is an adventure filled saga of Amir Aczel's lifelong obsession: to find the original sources of our numerals. Aczel has doggedly crisscrossed the ancient world, scouring dusty, moldy texts, cross examining so-called scholars who offered wildly differing sets of facts, and ultimately penetrating deep into a Cambodian jungle to find a definitive proof. Here, he takes the reader along for the ride.The history begins with the early Babylonian cuneiform numbers, followed by the later Greek and Roman letter numerals. Then Aczel asks the key question: where do the numbers we use today, the so-called Hindu-Arabic numerals, come from? It is this search that leads him to explore uncharted territory, to go on a grand quest into India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and ultimately into the wilds of Cambodia. There he is blown away to find the earliest zero—the keystone of our entire system of numbers—on a crumbling, vine-covered wall of a seventh-century temple adorned with eaten-away erotic sculptures. While on this odyssey, Aczel meets a host of fascinating characters: academics in search of truth, jungle trekkers looking for adventure, surprisingly honest politicians, shameless smugglers, and treacherous archaeological thieves—who finally reveal where our numbers come from.

The Calculus Story: A Mathematical Adventure


David Acheson - 2017
    It is the mathematical method for the analysis of things that change, and since in the natural world we are surrounded by change, the development of calculus was a huge breakthrough in the history of mathematics. But it is also something of a mathematical adventure, largely because of the way infinity enters at virtually every twist and turn...In The Calculus Story David Acheson presents a wide-ranging picture of calculus and its applications, from ancient Greece right up to the present day. Drawing on their original writings, he introduces the people who helped to build our understanding of calculus. With a step by step treatment, he demonstrates how to start doing calculus, from the very beginning.