200% of Nothing - Annotated by A K Dewdney (Paperback)

About the Book

With the razor-sharp wit that made him popular as the "Mathematical Recreations" columnist for Scientific American, Dewdney exposes all the slick tricks and subtle schemes used by advertisers, politicians, stockbrokers, car dealers, and just about anybody who tries to impress us with numbers. Amusing examples of every kind of math abuse taken from real-life cases.

Book Synopsis

Acclaim for "In today's world, 'innumeracy' is an even greaterdanger than illiteracy, and is perhaps even more common.Advertisers and politicians exploit it; intellectuals (self-styled)even flaunt it. I hope that this wise and witty book will providecures where they are possible, and warnings where they arenecessary.

"It's also a lot of fun. I can guarantee that 100%."--Arthur C.Clarke

"Dewdney retells with charm and wit magnificent morsels ofmathematical mayhem discovered by his army of volunteer 'abusedetectives.' From 'sample trashing' to 'numerical terrorism, ' from'percentage pumping' to 'dimensional dementia, ' 200% of Nothingplumbs the depths of innumeracy in daily life and reveals whatordinary people can do about it.

A rich, readable, instructive, and persuasive book."--Lynn ArthurSteen, Professor of Mathematics, St. Olaf College

From the Back Cover

Acclaim for "In today's world, 'innumeracy' is an even greater danger than illiteracy, and is perhaps even more common. Advertisers and politicians exploit it; intellectuals (self-styled) even flaunt it. I hope that this wise and witty book will provide cures where they are possible, and warnings where they are necessary.

"It's also a lot of fun. I can guarantee that 100%."--Arthur C. Clarke

"Dewdney retells with charm and wit magnificent morsels of mathematical mayhem discovered by his army of volunteer 'abuse detectives.' From 'sample trashing' to 'numerical terrorism, ' from 'percentage pumping' to 'dimensional dementia, ' 200% of Nothing plumbs the depths of innumeracy in daily life and reveals what ordinary people can do about it.

A rich, readable, instructive, and persuasive book."--Lynn Arthur Steen, Professor of Mathematics, St. Olaf College

About the Author

A. K. DEWDNEY, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Western Ontario. Well-known for his popular "Mathematical Recreations" column, which ran in Scientific American for more than eight years, he is also the author of several books, including The Armchair Universe and The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World.