“Where else does math become a romp, full of entertaining tricks and turns?”—Bryce Christensen, Booklist Have you ever considered why you always get stuck in the longest line? Why two’s company but three’s a crowd? Or why there are six degrees of separation instead of seven? In this hugely informative and endlessly entertaining book, John D. Barrow takes the most baffling of everyday phenomena and—with simple math, lucid explanations, and illustrations—explains why they work the way they do. His witty, crystal-clear answers shed light on the dark and shadowy corners of the physical world we all think we understand so well.
An entertaining and illuminating collection of 100 surprising connections between math and the arts. At first glance, the worlds of math and the arts might not seem like comfortable neighbors. But as mathematician John D. Barrow points out, they have a strong and natural affinity—after all, math is the study of all patterns, and the world of the arts is rich with pattern. Barrow whisks us through 100 thought-provoking and often whimsical intersections between math and many arts, from the golden ratios of Mondrian’s rectangles and the curious fractal-like nature of Pollock’s drip paintings to ballerinas’ gravity-defying leaps and the next generation of monkeys on typewriters tackling Shakespeare. For those of us with our feet planted more firmly on the ground, Barrow also wields everyday equations to reveal how many guards are needed in an art gallery or where you should stand to look at sculptures. From music and drama to literature and the visual arts, Barrow’s witty and accessible observations are sure to spark the imaginations of math nerds and art aficionados alike.
'If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is.' John von Neumann Mathematics can tell you things about the world that can't be learned in any other way. This hugely informative and wonderfully entertaining Brain Shot answers a few essential questions about existence. It unravels the knotty, clarifies the conundrums and sheds light into dark corners. From winning the lottery, financial investment with Time Travelers and the weirdest football match ever to Sherlock Holmes, Elections, game theory, drunks, packing for your holiday and the madness of crowds; from chaos to infinity and everything in between, Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know has all the answers! BRAIN SHOTS: The byte-sized guide to all the things you didn't know you didn't know...
"Barrow's wonderfully informative book should charm both lovers and haters of mathematics."-Sheldon Lee Glashow, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics --
We design to elicit responses from people. We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs. With it you’ll be able to design more intuitive and engaging work for print, websites, applications, and products that matches the way people think, work, and play. Learn to increase the effectiveness, conversion rates, and usability of your own design projects by finding the answers to questions such as: What grabs and holds attention on a page or screen? What makes memories stick? What is more important, peripheral or central vision? How can you predict the types of errors that people will make? What is the limit to someone’s social circle? How do you motivate people to continue on to (the next step? What line length for text is best? Are some fonts better than others? These are just a few of the questions that the book answers in its deep-dive exploration of what makes people tick.
A math professor shows how math and physics can offer unexpected insights into the world of sports, from the g-forces experienced by gymnasts during the "giant swing" maneuver to an explanation as to why left-handed boxers have a strategic advantage.
This completely revised and updated edition of Don't Tell Me What To Do, Just Send Money prepares parents for the issues that they will encounter during their children's college years. Since our original publication over ten years ago, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of cell phone and internet technology. The birth of the term ‘helicopter parent' is, in part, due to the instant and frequent connectivity that parents have with their children today. Parents are struggling with the appropriate use of communicative technology and aren't aware of its impact on their child's development, both personally and academically. With straightforward practicality and using humorous and helpful case examples and dialogues, Don't Tell Me What To Do, Just Send Money helps parents lay the groundwork for a new kind of relationship so that they can help their child more effectively handle everything they'll encounter during their college years.
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
Uses basic mathematics to answer one hundred conundrums from everyday life, from the odds of winning the lottery and the method of determining batting averages to the shapes of roller coasters and the reasoning behind the fairest possible divorce settlements.
Did you know the the first draft of manuscript was written "off and on for 18 months"? Or, did you know Catherine did a happy dance when she found out that "Spin" debuted at number fifteen on the Globe & Mail Canadian best-seller list. What are the amazing facts of Hidden by Catherine McKenzie? Do you want to know the golden nuggets of facts readers love? If you've enjoyed the book, then this will be a must read delight for you! Collected for readers everywhere are 101 book facts about the book & author that are fun, down-to-earth, and amazingly true to keep you laughing and learning as you read through the book! Tips & Tricks to Enhance Reading Experience • Enter "G Whiz" after your favorite title to see if publication exists! ie) Harry Potter G Whiz • Enter "G Whiz 101" to search for entire catalogue! • Tell us what title you want next! • Combine your favorite titles to receive bundle coupons! • Submit a review and hop on the Wall of Contributors! “Get ready for fun, down-to-earth, and amazing facts that keep you laughing & learning!" - G Whiz DISCLAIMER: This work is an derivative work not to be confused with the original title. It is a collection of facts from reputable sources generally known to the public with source URLs for further reading and enjoyment. It is unofficial and unaffiliated with respective parties of the original title in any way. Due to the nature of research, no content shall be deemed authoritative nor used for citation purposes. Refined and tested for quality, we provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back.
