The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty


K.C. Cole - 1998
    In The Universe and the Teacup, K. C. Cole demystifies mathematics and shows us-with humor and wonderfully accessible stories-why math need not be frightening. Using the O. J. Simpson trial, the bell curve, and Emmy Noether, the nineteenth-century woman scientist whose work was essential for Einstein's theory of relativity, Cole helps us see that more than just being a tool, math is a key to understanding the beauty of everything from rainbows to relativity.

Elliptic Tales: Curves, Counting, and Number Theory


Avner Ash - 2012
    The Clay Mathematics Institute is offering a prize of $1 million to anyone who can discover a general solution to the problem. In this book, Avner Ash and Robert Gross guide readers through the mathematics they need to understand this captivating problem.The key to the conjecture lies in elliptic curves, which are cubic equations in two variables. These equations may appear simple, yet they arise from some very deep--and often very mystifying--mathematical ideas. Using only basic algebra and calculus while presenting numerous eye-opening examples, Ash and Gross make these ideas accessible to general readers, and in the process venture to the very frontiers of modern mathematics. Along the way, they give an informative and entertaining introduction to some of the most profound discoveries of the last three centuries in algebraic geometry, abstract algebra, and number theory. They demonstrate how mathematics grows more abstract to tackle ever more challenging problems, and how each new generation of mathematicians builds on the accomplishments of those who preceded them. Ash and Gross fully explain how the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture sheds light on the number theory of elliptic curves, and how it provides a beautiful and startling connection between two very different objects arising from an elliptic curve, one based on calculus, the other on algebra.

The Hidden Half: How the World Conceals its Secrets


Michael Blastland - 2019
    In this entertaining and ingenious book, Blastland reveals how in our quest to make the world more understandable, we lose sight of how unexplainable it often is. The result - from GDP figures to medicine - is that experts know a lot less than they think. Filled with compelling stories from economics, genetics, business, and science, The Hidden Half is a warning that an explanation which works in one arena may not work in another. Entertaining and provocative, it will change how you view the world.

If You'll Let Me


B. Love - 2018
    He’d given me my first taste of love, and he helped me to see just how stupid our hearts could be. Because of Cory, I learned that love was the only thing we couldn’t see in the physical that could completely screw up the physical – mainly our hearts. Love had the ability to break your heart into small pieces and feed it to the idiot you loved just to make him stronger while you grew weak. If love wasn’t for the weak, may I never be strong. – Nola Williams For Nola Williams, until she achieves every dream and goal on her to-do list, love was to be avoided at all costs. That had been an easy task… until she met Logan Hart. Not only is Logan devilishly handsome, wealthy, and charming, but he also has the power to help Nola achieve her dreams in a fraction of the time it would take for her to do it on her own. In exchange for her dreams, Logan is asking for Nola’s hand, heart, and commitment, and they all seem to be an easy trade in the beginning. As their exchange unfolds, Nola finds herself wondering if her dreams were worth the risk of tying herself to a man like Logan. A man who has an effortless ability to seep into the crevices of her cracked heart. The problem? Their union is only to last for a year, and though the world thinks it’s real, Nola and Logan know it’s fake. Will she be able to leave Logan with her dreams and her heart unscathed, or will she learn firsthand how love has the power to destroy just as her father did?

Apple Orchard Mysteries Series: Box Set Three


Chelsea Thomas - 2020
    She bakes the best apple pie in North America. And she’s the first person the people of Pine Grove run to with their secrets.Miss May does not drop a case until it’s solved.If you’ve read books 1-6 in this series, you know these cozies are suspenseful nail-biters. You also know they can be FUN and SILLY as a little kitten with a ball of string.Awwwwww. Kittens with string.Readers love the delicious food in these books. Four-ingredient sour dough bread, gooey cinnamon buns, peach pie that will make your mouth water so much you’ll need a bucket.Plus, everyone LOVES Miss May’s zany friend, Teeny. And they can’t get enough of Chelsea.No one is going to forget how sweaty Chelsea gets under pressure anytime soon. She can’t help it, she gets the nervous sweats!So what are you waiting for?Grab this box set and kick off a few days of fun, exciting sleuthing.If you love cozy mysteries with smart sleuths and delicious food, you’ll love this box set.

The Millennium Problems


Keith Devlin - 2002
    For mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and everyone else with an interest in mathematics' cutting edge, The Millennium Problems is the definitive account of a subject that will have a very long shelf life.

The Nubl Wars (The Pattern Universe Book 3)


Tobias Roote - 2015
     The continuing story.... As the post-attack chaos forces Earth governments to realise they no longer have the ability to maintain order; the destiny of mankind falls to a select group of human and artificial intelligence to prepare a defence against annihilation by the Nubl hives. Pod’s growing sentience causes problems when she lets her guard down. Zeke gets severely wounded, ultimately forcing the mutating DNA to intensify its activities. His friends and colleagues believe he cannot survive the transformation, but Zeke doesn’t give up easily. Meanwhile, Arty obtains a mental boost. Believing he has the answer to everything, he makes plans to do what he can to protect humanity from extinction. Pennington baulks and demands all the high-calibre AI’s be controlled - preferably by him. This doesn’t go down well with humans and AI alike, but there is no time to dwell on the issue, because the Nubl are coming. In this concluding novel of the successful Pattern Universe trilogy, Tobias Roote brings together all of the aspects of the first two books and races the reader to a rapid, action-packed conclusion. Why not join Tobias Roote’s private mailing list at http://tobiasroote.com and be kept informed of new releases of all future books. You might want to read other books in the series as well. The Pattern Ship http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HGFP8W2 POD http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J70YY0G SKY CITY http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0133LN2SO

Journey to the Edge of Reason: The Life of Kurt Gödel


Stephen Budiansky - 2021
    Yet unlike Einstein, with whom he formed a warm and abiding friendship, Gödel has long escaped all but the most casual scrutiny of his life.Stephen Budiansky’s Journey to the Edge of Reason is the first biography to fully draw upon Gödel’s voluminous letters and writings—including a never-before-transcribed shorthand diary of his most intimate thoughts—to explore Gödel’s profound intellectual friendships, his moving relationship with his mother, his troubled yet devoted marriage, and the debilitating bouts of paranoia that ultimately took his life. It also offers an intimate portrait of the scientific and intellectual circles in prewar Vienna, a haunting account of Gödel’s and Jewish intellectuals’ flight from Austria and Germany at the start of the Second World War, and a vivid re-creation of the early days of Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, where Gödel and Einstein both worked.Eloquent and insightful, Journey to the Edge of Reason is a fully realized portrait of the odd, brilliant, and tormented man who has been called the greatest logician since Aristotle, and illuminates the far-reaching implications of Gödel’s revolutionary ideas for philosophy, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and man’s place in the cosmos.

How to Study for a Mathematics Degree


Lara Alcock - 2012
    Many of these students are extremely intelligent and hardworking, but even the best will, at some point, struggle with the demands of making the transition to advanced mathematics. Some have difficulty adjusting to independent study and to learning from lectures. Other struggles, however, are more fundamental: the mathematics shifts in focus from calculation to proof, so students are expected to interact with it in different ways. These changes need not be mysterious - mathematics education research has revealed many insights into the adjustments that are necessary - but they are not obvious and they do need explaining.This no-nonsense book translates these research-based insights into practical advice for a student audience. It covers every aspect of studying for a mathematics degree, from the most abstract intellectual challenges to the everyday business of interacting with lecturers and making good use of study time. Part 1 provides an in-depth discussion of advanced mathematical thinking, and explains how a student will need to adapt and extend their existing skills in order to develop a good understanding of undergraduate mathematics. Part 2 covers study skills as these relate to the demands of a mathematics degree. It suggests practical approaches to learning from lectures and to studying for examinations while also allowing time for a fulfilling all-round university experience.The first subject-specific guide for students, this friendly, practical text will be essential reading for anyone studying mathematics at university.

Visions of Infinity: The Great Mathematical Problems


Ian Stewart - 2013
    Some of these problems are new, while others have puzzled and bewitched thinkers across the ages. Such challenges offer a tantalizing glimpse of the field's unlimited potential, and keep mathematicians looking toward the horizons of intellectual possibility.In Visions of Infinity, celebrated mathematician Ian Stewart provides a fascinating overview of the most formidable problems mathematicians have vanquished, and those that vex them still. He explains why these problems exist, what drives mathematicians to solve them, and why their efforts matter in the context of science as a whole. The three-century effort to prove Fermat's last theorem—first posited in 1630, and finally solved by Andrew Wiles in 1995—led to the creation of algebraic number theory and complex analysis. The Poincaré conjecture, which was cracked in 2002 by the eccentric genius Grigori Perelman, has become fundamental to mathematicians' understanding of three-dimensional shapes. But while mathematicians have made enormous advances in recent years, some problems continue to baffle us. Indeed, the Riemann hypothesis, which Stewart refers to as the “Holy Grail of pure mathematics,” and the P/NP problem, which straddles mathematics and computer science, could easily remain unproved for another hundred years.An approachable and illuminating history of mathematics as told through fourteen of its greatest problems, Visions of Infinity reveals how mathematicians the world over are rising to the challenges set by their predecessors—and how the enigmas of the past inevitably surrender to the powerful techniques of the present.

Good Math: A Geek's Guide to the Beauty of Numbers, Logic, and Computation


Mark C. Chu-Carroll - 2013
    There is joy and beauty in mathematics, and in more than two dozen essays drawn from his popular “Good Math” blog, you’ll find concepts, proofs, and examples that are often surprising, counterintuitive, or just plain weird.Mark begins his journey with the basics of numbers, with an entertaining trip through the integers and the natural, rational, irrational, and transcendental numbers. The voyage continues with a look at some of the oddest numbers in mathematics, including zero, the golden ratio, imaginary numbers, Roman numerals, and Egyptian and continuing fractions. After a deep dive into modern logic, including an introduction to linear logic and the logic-savvy Prolog language, the trip concludes with a tour of modern set theory and the advances and paradoxes of modern mechanical computing.If your high school or college math courses left you grasping for the inner meaning behind the numbers, Mark’s book will both entertain and enlighten you.

Hardcore


Larry A. Winters - 2013
    But there was one tie to the industry she could not sever. Her sister, Tara, was also a porn star. Two years later, when Tara supposedly commits suicide, Ashley must return to the San Fernando Valley and the life she thought she'd left behind. Now she's not sure who she can trust--especially the handsome new video editor who seems intent on helping her. But she won't leave Los Angeles until she's proven Tara's death was a murder. And until she's faced the killer.One of the most thrilling and original novels of the year, Hardcore crackles with sexual tension, great characters, and enough twists to keep mystery and thriller fans turning pages until every secret is revealed.

The Golden Ratio: The Divine Beauty of Mathematics


Gary B. Meisner - 2018
    This gorgeous book features clear, entertaining, and enlightening commentary alongside stunning full-color illustrations by Venezuelan artist and architect Rafael Araujo. From the pyramids of Giza, to quasicrystals, to the proportions of the human face, the golden ratio has an infinite capacity to generate shapes with exquisite properties.  With its lush format and layflat dimensions that closely approximate the golden ratio, this is the ultimate coffee table book for math enthusiasts, architects, designers, and fans of sacred geometry.

Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum


Leonard Susskind - 2014
    Now, physicist Leonard Susskind has teamed up with data engineer Art Friedman to present the theory and associated mathematics of the strange world of quantum mechanics.In this follow-up to The Theoretical Minimum, Susskind and Friedman provide a lively introduction to this famously difficult field, which attempts to understand the behavior of sub-atomic objects through mathematical abstractions. Unlike other popularizations that shy away from quantum mechanics’ weirdness, Quantum Mechanics embraces the utter strangeness of quantum logic. The authors offer crystal-clear explanations of the principles of quantum states, uncertainty and time dependence, entanglement, and particle and wave states, among other topics, and each chapter includes exercises to ensure mastery of each area. Like The Theoretical Minimum, this volume runs parallel to Susskind’s eponymous Stanford University-hosted continuing education course.An approachable yet rigorous introduction to a famously difficult topic, Quantum Mechanics provides a tool kit for amateur scientists to learn physics at their own pace.

The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics


Tim Harford - 2020
    That’s a mistake, Tim Harford says in The Data Detective. We shouldn’t be suspicious of statistics—we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are, at heart, human behavior seen through the prism of numbers and are often “the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us.” If we can toss aside our fears and learn to approach them clearly—understanding how our own preconceptions lead us astray—statistics can point to ways we can live better and work smarter.As “perhaps the best popular economics writer in the world” (New Statesman), Tim Harford is an expert at taking complicated ideas and untangling them for millions of readers. In The Data Detective, he uses new research in science and psychology to set out ten strategies for using statistics to erase our biases and replace them with new ideas that use virtues like patience, curiosity, and good sense to better understand ourselves and the world. As a result, The Data Detective is a big-idea book about statistics and human behavior that is fresh, unexpected, and insightful.