Why Do Buses Come in Threes?: The Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life - Softcover

Rob Eastaway; Jeremy Wyndham

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471379077 ISBN 13: 9780471379072

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2000

Synopsis

Why is it better to buy a lottery ticket on Friday? Do you get wetter running rather than walking through the rain? Why do traffic lights always seem to be red when you′re in a hurry? These and other questions about the curiosities of everyday life are answered in this delightfully irreverent and highly informative book. Why Do Buses Come in Threes? is a wonderful way to discover the relevance of math in absolutely everything we do, from dating and driving to gambling and cooking. Whether readers have a degree in astrophysics or haven′t touched a math problem since high school, this book will change the way they view the world whether it′s discussing the wartime technique for saving energy when making toast; the odd coincidence of U.S. presidents dying on the Fourth of July, or the exponential growth of Australian rabbits.

Rob Eastaway runs the world ratings for cricket and is the author of The Guinness Book of Mindbenders and What Is a Googly? Jeremy Wyndham, PhD, a former junior international bridge player, runs a market research company.

About this title

About the Author

ROB EASTAWAY is a freelance writer and lecturer. His books include The Guinness Book of Mindbenders and What Is a Googly?
JEREMY WYNDHAM, Ph.D., runs a market research company. He has a Ph.D. in physics and was a junior international bridge player.

From the Back Cover

"Deals in a very entertaining way with problems in normal life related to mathematics, luck, coincidence, gambling." ? The Independent (London)

Why do your chances of winning the lottery increase if you buy your ticket on Friday? Why do traffic lights always seem to be red when you?re in a hurry? Is bad luck just chance, or can it be explained?

The intriguing answers to these and other questions about the curiosities of everyday life can be found in this delightfully irreverent and highly informative book. Why Do Buses Come in Threes? explains how math and the laws of probability are constantly at work in our lives, affecting everything we do, from getting a date to catching a bus to cooking dinner. With great humor and a genuine love for the subject, Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham present solutions to such conundrums as how fast one should run in the rain to stay dry and who was the greatest sportsman of all time.Discover the mathematical explanations for the strange coincidence of two.

Presidents dying on July 4, the uncanny "accuracy" of horoscopes, and other not–so–coincidental coincidences. Eastaway and Wyndham also reveal how television ratings work, which numbers are more likely to be big winners in the lottery, and why bad things, just like buses, always seem to happen in threes.

Whether you have a degree in astrophysics or haven?t touched a math problem since high school, this book sends you on a fascinating journey through the logic of life where Newton?s laws explain bar fights, exploding rabbit populations, and why showers always run either too hot or too cold. Why Do Buses Come in Threes? is a delightfully entertaining ride that reveals the relevance of math in absolutely everything we do.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471379077
• ISBN 13: 9780471379072
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176