Strength in Numbers - by Sherman K Stein (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An engaging survey of the fundamental concepts of mathematics and the many ways math is used in everyday life. This is a stimulating and simple reintroduction to all the math we all learned in high school but have forgotten, using many examples of how math applies to the real world. Highlights the math topics that are most relevant to everyday concerns, such as how statistics can be misleading and how interest on savings accounts accrues at different interest rates. Also explores the most fundamental mysteries and amazing properties, such as why two negative numbers multiplied together make a positive number and why fractions can be easily multiplied but not easily added. Uses a multitude of examples from real life such as how extremely large numbers are used to write unbreakable computer codes and how the slope of a curve is used by biologists to calculate the rate of growth of species. It walks the reader step by step through simple solutions to each problem explored.

From the Back Cover

An Easygoing, Highly Entertaining Refresher on all the Math You'll Ever Need.
What do two goats and a car have to do with making good decisions? Was the golden ratio used to build the Great Pyramid of Khufu? Can it be that some numbers are unmistakably "hot," while others are inherently "cool"? With his infectiously enthusiastic and engaging style, award-winning teacher and author Sherman K. Stein offers a new appreciation for mathematics, from the beauty of its logic ("as inevitable and memorable as a Mozart symphony") to its amazing power and pervasiveness in our lives. Requiring no math knowledge beyond basic arithmetic and high school geometry, Strength in Numbers is an enlightening introduction to all the math you'll ever need.

Review Quotes

"Let's cut to the quick. Read this book. Stein has given us a delightful, refreshing new look at old mathematics, and introduces us to the new in a readable and entertaining way."-New Scientist

"The diverse themes hold the reader throughout. . . . A rich and charming book."-Choice

"Strength in Numbers should find a home in every school library, and mathematics teachers will want to recommend chapters of this book to their students."-Mathematics Teacher

About the Author

SHERMAN K. STEIN is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Davis, where he received a distinguished teaching award. He is also a recipient of the Lester R. Ford Prize of the Mathematical Association of America for excellence in exposition on math. He is the author of Mathematics: The Man-Made Universe and The Guided Inquiry Series on math for high school students. He lives in Davis, California.