New from Basic Books: Do Dice Play God?: The Mathematics of Uncertainty by Ian Stewart.
About the book, from the publisher:
A celebrated mathematician explores how math helps us make sense of the unpredictableLearn more about the book at the author's website.
We would like to believe we can know things for certain. We want to be able to figure out who will win an election, if the stock market will crash, or if a suspect definitely committed a crime. But the odds are not in our favor. Life is full of uncertainty — indeed, scientific advances indicate that the universe might be fundamentally inexact — and humans are terrible at guessing. When asked to predict the outcome of a chance event, we are almost always wrong.
Thankfully, there is hope. As award-winning mathematician Ian Stewart reveals, over the course of history, mathematics has given us some of the tools we need to better manage the uncertainty that pervades our lives. From forecasting, to medical research, to figuring out how to win Let’s Make a Deal, Do Dice Play God? is a surprising and satisfying tour of what we can know, and what we never will.
See Ian Stewart's top ten popular mathematics books.
The Page 99 Test: Why Beauty Is Truth.
The Page 99 Test: In Pursuit of the Unknown.
The Page 99 Test: Visions of Infinity.
--Marshal Zeringue
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