{"product_id":"foolproof-and-other-mathematical-meditations-brian-hayes-9780262536073","title":"Foolproof, and Other Mathematical Meditations","description":"\u003cb\u003eA non-mathematician explores mathematical terrain, reporting accessibly and engagingly on topics from Sudoku to probability.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrian Hayes wants to convince us that mathematics is too important and too much fun to be left to the mathematicians. \u003ci\u003eFoolproof, and Other Mathematical Meditations\u003c\/i\u003e is his entertaining and accessible exploration of mathematical terrain both far-flung and nearby, bringing readers tidings of mathematical topics from Markov chains to Sudoku. Hayes, a non-mathematician, argues that mathematics is not only an essential tool for understanding the world but also a world unto itself, filled with objects and patterns that transcend earthly reality. In a series of essays, Hayes sets off to explore this exotic terrain, and takes the reader with him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMath has a bad reputation: dull, difficult, detached from daily life. As a talking Barbie doll opined, \"Math class is tough.\" But Hayes makes math seem fun. Whether he's tracing the genealogy of a well-worn anecdote about a famous mathematical prodigy, or speculating about what would happen to a lost ball in the nth dimension, or explaining that there are such things as quasirandom numbers, Hayes wants readers to share his enthusiasm. That's why he imagines a cinematic treatment of the discovery of the Riemann zeta function (\"The year: 1972. The scene: Afternoon tea in Fuld Hall at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey\"), explains that there is math in Sudoku after all, and describes better-than-average averages. Even when some of these essays involve a hike up the learning curve, the view from the top is worth it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Brian Hayes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262536072\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262536073\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/30\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 244\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.78lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d","brand":"Brian Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43981524828415,"sku":"9780262536073","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f221935f-c60f-4359-bef5-6f00302a2c18.jpg?v=1683256090","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/foolproof-and-other-mathematical-meditations-brian-hayes-9780262536073","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}