{"product_id":"foolproof-and-other-mathematical-meditations-isbn-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\u003eBrian Hayes is Senior Contributing Writer at \u003ci\u003eAmerican Scientist.\u003c\/i\u003e His writing has appeared in\u003ci\u003e Scientific American\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Sciences\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew Republic\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304149438693,"sku":"NP9780262536073","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262536073.jpg?v=1767727530","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/foolproof-and-other-mathematical-meditations-isbn-9780262536073","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}