The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity - Rilegato

Strogatz, Steven

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0547517653 ISBN 13: 9780547517650

Casa editrice: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

Riassunto

A world-class mathematician and regular contributor to the New York Times hosts a delightful tour of the greatest ideas of math, revealing how it connects to literature, philosophy, law, medicine, art, business, even pop culture in ways we never imagined

Did O.J. do it? How should you flip your mattress to get the maximum wear out of it? How does Google search the Internet? How many people should you date before settling down? Believe it or not, math plays a crucial role in answering all of these questions and more.

Math underpins everything in the cosmos, including us, yet too few of us understand this universal language well enough to revel in its wisdom, its beauty — and its joy. This deeply enlightening, vastly entertaining volume translates math in a way that is at once intelligible and thrilling. Each trenchant chapter of The Joy of x offers an “aha!” moment, starting with why numbers are so helpful, and progressing through the wondrous truths implicit in p, the Pythagorean theorem, irrational numbers, fat tails, even the rigors and surprising charms of calculus. Showing why he has won awards as a professor at Cornell and garnered extensive praise for his articles about math for theNew York Times, Strogatz presumes of his readers only curiosity and common sense. And he rewards them with clear, ingenious, and often funny explanations of the most vital and exciting principles of his discipline.

Whether you aced integral calculus or aren’t sure what an integer is, you’ll find profound wisdom and persistent delight inThe Joy of x.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

Praise for The Calculus of Friendship:

"An intimate view of mentorship is revealed by US mathematician Steven Strogatz in The Calculus of Friendship, a compilation of letters exchanged with his high-school math teacher over 30 years. Through their correspondence they share problems in calculus, chaos theory and major life events, from professional and sporting successes to family bereavements and divorce. The book touchingly charts their changing roles and relationship, from student to professor, teacher to retirement." —Nature

"You wouldn’t guess it from the title, but The Calculus of Friendship is a genuine tearjerker. I defy anyone to follow the correspondence between mathematician Steven Strogatz and his high school teacher Don Joffray (affectionately nicknamed ‘Joff’) without getting just a little lachrymose. If you don’t, check to see if there is a heart in your chest. If there is, ensure that it’s not just a cold slab of stone." —Bookslut

Praise for Sync: How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life

#5 on list of Amazon.com Customer Favorites in Science for 2003

Selected as a "Best Book of the Year" by Discover magazine in 2003

Anomalist Award for Best Science Book of 2003

"Compulsively readable." — Science

"Describes dozens of sights and sounds that arise from collective, synchronized behavior...Delightful." — Discover

"Offers a real sense of what it’s like to be at the beginning of Something Big." — New Scientist

"Strogatz ...is a first-rate storyteller and an even better teacher...Sync is a great read." — Nature

"The most exciting new book of the spring...Masterful...A gem." — Popular Science

L'autore:

Steven Strogatz is a professor of applied mathematics at Cornell University. A renowned teacher and one of the world’s most highly cited mathematicians, he blogs about math for the New York Times and been a frequent guest on National Public Radio’s RadioLab. In 2007 he received the Communications Award, a lifetime achievement award for the communication of mathematics to the general public. He lives in Ithaca, New York with his wife and two daughters.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0547517653
• ISBN 13: 9780547517650
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 316