Once Upon a Number: The Hidden Mathematical Logic of Stories (Allen Lane Science S.) - Hardcover

Paulos, John Allen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0713993146 ISBN 13: 9780713993141

Publisher: Allen Lane, 1999

Synopsis

The human imagination seems able to explore two very different worlds: the realm of mathematics, statistics and exact science, and the contrasting world of personal experience - our memories and emotions, the stories that make up our lives. This delightful and original book explores the unexpected relationships that tie these two worlds together. With anecdotes about such phenomena as the Bible codes, the statistics of stereotyping, and the probability of retrieving lost socks, John Allen Paulos examines these issues in his familiar engaging style.

About this title

Review:

Mathematician John Allen Paulos bravely bridges the scientific and literary cultures with this amusing, enlightening look at numbers and stories. If you think those two things go together like a "horse and a paperclip," as Allen wryly observes, you only have to look at phenomena like the Bible codes, the stock market's ups and downs, and the Clinton sex scandal to begin to understand the hidden bonds between them. Put simply, mathematics can describe everything that happens, and everything that happens contextualises mathematics. In demonstrating this, Paulos continues the noble numeracy crusade he began with A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper and Beyond Numeracy. Perhaps the most compelling thought experiments in the book are those of the statistics of stereotyping and race relations. Paulos shows, mathematically, that minority status makes achieving equality extraordinarily difficult.

If you want to keep hold of your comfortable worldview, don't read Once Upon a Number. But you'll be missing out on an unforgettable reminder of what chance, coincidence and odds really mean, along with several valuable life lessons that may help you understand lost socks, racism and mistaken identity. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com

Synopsis:

First published by Basic Books in 1998, this book explores, with wit and originality, the unexpected relationships that tie the realm of mathematics, statistics and exact science to the contrasting world of personal experience - our memories and emotions, the stories that make up our lives.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0713993146
• ISBN 13: 9780713993141
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224