Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, & Other Mathematical Explorations

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Mathematics, Recreations & Games, Science
Cover of the book Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, & Other Mathematical Explorations by Keith Ball, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Keith Ball ISBN: 9781400841240
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: October 16, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Keith Ball
ISBN: 9781400841240
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: October 16, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

How does mathematics enable us to send pictures from space back to Earth? Where does the bell-shaped curve come from? Why do you need only 23 people in a room for a 50/50 chance of two of them sharing the same birthday? In Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, and Other Mathematical Explorations, Keith Ball highlights how ideas, mostly from pure math, can answer these questions and many more. Drawing on areas of mathematics from probability theory, number theory, and geometry, he explores a wide range of concepts, some more light-hearted, others central to the development of the field and used daily by mathematicians, physicists, and engineers.

Each of the book's ten chapters begins by outlining key concepts and goes on to discuss, with the minimum of technical detail, the principles that underlie them. Each includes puzzles and problems of varying difficulty. While the chapters are self-contained, they also reveal the links between seemingly unrelated topics. For example, the problem of how to design codes for satellite communication gives rise to the same idea of uncertainty as the problem of screening blood samples for disease.

Accessible to anyone familiar with basic calculus, this book is a treasure trove of ideas that will entertain, amuse, and bemuse students, teachers, and math lovers of all ages.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How does mathematics enable us to send pictures from space back to Earth? Where does the bell-shaped curve come from? Why do you need only 23 people in a room for a 50/50 chance of two of them sharing the same birthday? In Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, and Other Mathematical Explorations, Keith Ball highlights how ideas, mostly from pure math, can answer these questions and many more. Drawing on areas of mathematics from probability theory, number theory, and geometry, he explores a wide range of concepts, some more light-hearted, others central to the development of the field and used daily by mathematicians, physicists, and engineers.

Each of the book's ten chapters begins by outlining key concepts and goes on to discuss, with the minimum of technical detail, the principles that underlie them. Each includes puzzles and problems of varying difficulty. While the chapters are self-contained, they also reveal the links between seemingly unrelated topics. For example, the problem of how to design codes for satellite communication gives rise to the same idea of uncertainty as the problem of screening blood samples for disease.

Accessible to anyone familiar with basic calculus, this book is a treasure trove of ideas that will entertain, amuse, and bemuse students, teachers, and math lovers of all ages.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book The Politics of Life Itself by Keith Ball
Cover of the book Fourier Restriction for Hypersurfaces in Three Dimensions and Newton Polyhedra (AM-194) by Keith Ball
Cover of the book On Conan Doyle by Keith Ball
Cover of the book The Dialectic of Essence by Keith Ball
Cover of the book No Man's Land by Keith Ball
Cover of the book A Guide to the Mammals of China by Keith Ball
Cover of the book Welfare and the Constitution by Keith Ball
Cover of the book The Quotable Kierkegaard by Keith Ball
Cover of the book Our Bodies, Whose Property? by Keith Ball
Cover of the book The Great Mother by Keith Ball
Cover of the book The Myth of Digital Democracy by Keith Ball
Cover of the book Return of the "L" Word by Keith Ball
Cover of the book The Iranian Metaphysicals by Keith Ball
Cover of the book Rembrandt's Roughness by Keith Ball
Cover of the book Introduction to Jungian Psychology by Keith Ball
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy