Geekspeak: Why Life + Mathematics = Happiness - Hardcover

Tattersall, Graham

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007263384 ISBN 13: 9780007263387

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2007

Synopsis

The quirky offspring of ‘QI’ and ‘Freakonomics’, ‘Geekspeak’ melds ingenious statistical analysis with edifying trivia to explain away some curious facts of life.

Curiosity is our human birthright, and destiny. As a species we are to prone to think, ruminate, reflect, cogitate, deliberate and philosophise. We do all these things, and why? To explain away the world around us, to find solace in knowledge, to answer all those seeming unanswerables: why are we here? Is there a God? Is there life after death? How many slaves on treadmills does it take to power my kettle?

Yes, forget the Bible, ‘Geekspeak’ is the new oracle for 21st century living. Graham Tattersall, a confirmed and superior geek, has rescued maths from the prison of the classroom, imbued it with fresh new life, and put it to use in novel and unexpected ways. His ingenious, deceptively simple formula melds statistical analysis with personal experience and enlightening trivia to explain away some curious and oft-pondered mysteries of the world: how big is your vocabulary, how heavy is your house, do the dead outnumber the living, how powerful is a fly, how fast is a fart.

With its recipe of sophisticated mathematical techniques, witty anecdotes and startling amount of learning, ‘Geekspeak’ is an essential tool for impressing friends, sounding intelligent and better understanding the fascinating world in which we live. Maths has a new champion, and the Geeks a new King.

About this title

Review:

‘It will give you the means of finding out all sorts of information that you don't actually need to know. Curiously, I found it all quite interesting. Does that mean that I am a geek?’ Church Review

From the Back Cover:

Curiosity is our human birthright, and destiny. As a species, we are prone to think, ruminate, reflect, cogitate, mull over, and philosophize. Why do we do these things? To explain away the world around us, to find solace in knowledge, to answer all those seeming unanswerables: Why are we here? Is there a God? Is there life after death? And, above all, how many houseflies does it take to pull a car?

Dr. Graham Tattersall, a confirmed and superior geek, has rescued math from the prison of the classroom and put it to use in novel and unexpected ways to explain away some oft-pondered mysteries of the world. The questions he tackles include:

How big is your vocabulary?

How heavy is your house?

Do the dead outnumber the living?

What are the best words to use in a personal ad?

How much do you love your father?

His formula is simple, cunning, and witty, allowing the reader to exercise his or her brain, and impress friends, in ways never possible before. More than a delightful book to read from cover to cover, Geekspeak is an essential tool for solving the unsolvable, sounding intelligent, and better understanding the fascinating world in which we live.

Math has a new champion, and the Geeks a new King.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0007263384
• ISBN 13: 9780007263387
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256