Revealing the Mathematics behind Everyday Things
Figuring it Out: Entertaining Encounters with Everyday Math is a book of mathematical stories — funny and puzzling mathematical stories. They tell of villains who try to steal secrets, heroes who encode their messages, and mathematicians who spend years on end searching for the best way to pile oranges.
This book reveals the power and beauty of mathematics. It shows mathematics in action, explained in a way that everybody can understand. There also are stories about highway confusion occurring when the rules of Cartesian geometry are ignored, small-change errors due to ignorance of ancient paradoxes, and mistakes in calendars arising from poor numerical approximations.
Nuno Crato is a science writer and mathematician, whose entertaining essays have won a number of international awards. His latest book is intended to entice youngsters and inspire teachers.
• Publication title: Figuring It Out, Entertaining Encounters with Everyday Math
• Author: N. Crato, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
• Publication type: Book (Hardback)
• Publication date: 31 December 2010
• Number of pages: 227
• ISBN: 978-3-642-04832-6
• Price: €27,95, $27.50, £24.99
