Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other Mathematical DiversionsAn Award-Winning Essayist Plies His Craft Brian Hayes is one of the most accomplished essayists active today--a claim supported not only by his prolific and continuing high-quality output but also by such honors as the National Magazine Award for his commemorative Y2K essay titled "Clock of Ages," published in the November/December 1999 issue of The Sciences magazine. (The also-rans that year included Tom Wolfe, Verlyn Klinkenborg, and Oliver Sacks.) Hayes's work in this genre has also appeared in such anthologies as The Best American Magazine Writing, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and The Norton Reader. Here he offers us a selection of his most memorable and accessible pieces--including "Clock of Ages"--embellishing them with an overall, scene-setting preface, reconfigured illustrations, and a refreshingly self-critical "Afterthoughts" section appended to each essay. |
What people are saying - Write a review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - hcubic - LibraryThingI am an enthusiastic fan of Brian Hayes' "Computing Science" column in the Sigma Xi publication, American Scientist, which is the source of most of the essays in this book. Before that, I read his ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - tyroeternal - LibraryThingMy reading from essay to essay varied from rapt attention to indifferent skimming. Mathematical writing is not a genre I would ever have thought I would jump on, but a few of Hayes' articles ... Read full review
Contents
Clock of Ages | 3 |
Random Resources | 23 |
Follow the Money | 41 |
Inventing the Genetic Code | 65 |
Statistics of Deadly Quarrels | 89 |
Dividing the Continent | 107 |
On the Teeth of Wheels | 125 |
The Easiest Hard Problem | 143 |
Other editions - View all
Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other Mathematical Diversions Brian Hayes No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
algorithm American amino acids answer appear base binary bits calculation called century choice choose clock codons combinations comes count digits distribution divide easy economic equal error example factor flipping followed four fraction gear genetic code given hand hard idea identity integer it's Journal kind known least less letters look machine mathematical matter mattress mean mechanism method namespace nature neighbors never numbers objects offer once operation partitioning perfect physics position possible probability problem protein published question random ratio reach reading reason represent result Richardson rule Science seems sequence side simple single square statistical steps suggests symbols takes ternary theory there's things tion trading turn University wars wealth wheel
Bibliographic information
| Title | Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other Mathematical Diversions |
| Author | Brian Hayes |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Macmillan, 2008 |
| ISBN | 0809052199, 9780809052196 |
| Length | 269 pages |
| Subjects | › › Science / Essays Science / Physics / Mathematical & Computational |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |