A Mathematician Reads the NewspaperWith the same user-friendly, quirky, and perceptive approach that made Innumeracy a bestseller, John Allen Paulos travels though the pages ofthe daily newspaper showing how math and numbers are a key element in many ofthe articles we read every day. From the Senate, SATs, and sex, to crime, celebrities, and cults, he takes stories that may not seem to involvemathematics at all and demonstrates how a lack of mathematical knowledge canhinder our understanding of them.After reading A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, it will beimpossible to look at the newspaper in the same way.-- PhiladelphiaInquirer It would be great to have John Allen Paulos living next door. Everymorning when you read the paper and come across some story that didn't seemquite right--that had the faint odor of illogic hovering about it-- you couldjust lean out the window and shout, 'John! Get the hell over here!'. A fun, spunky, wise little book that would be helpful to both the consumers of thenews and its purveyors. -- Washington Post Book World |
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Page 3
... readers at a disad vantage in thinking about many issues in the news that may seem not to involve mathematics at all ... reader is everyman , the mathematician an elitist . Furthermore , because of the mind - numbing way in which ...
... readers at a disad vantage in thinking about many issues in the news that may seem not to involve mathematics at all ... reader is everyman , the mathematician an elitist . Furthermore , because of the mind - numbing way in which ...
Page 25
... readers take away from the discussion ? I hope that even a loose , intu- itive understanding of the behavior of many ... reader should be more mindful of stories where the effect of small differences - say , decreases in a couple of ...
... readers take away from the discussion ? I hope that even a loose , intu- itive understanding of the behavior of many ... reader should be more mindful of stories where the effect of small differences - say , decreases in a couple of ...
Page 137
... reading significance into everything ) . And most people still don't realize that what's critical about a random sample is its absolute size , not its percentage of the population . Although it may seem counter- intuitive , a random ...
... reading significance into everything ) . And most people still don't realize that what's critical about a random sample is its absolute size , not its percentage of the population . Although it may seem counter- intuitive , a random ...
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Is It Vietnam or World War | 14 |
Afta Nafta Lafta Free Traders Exult | 27 |
Copyright | |
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70 percent 95 percent American answer approximately argument asked assume average baseball Butterfly Effect calories cancer candidate cellular phones cent chaos chaos theory Clinton coin flips complexity horizon conditional probability course coverage cube curve determine dyscalculia economy effect estimate example fact fast balls first-place votes flips headline Imagine increase issues JOHN ALLEN PAULOS journalistic Kerrey Laffer curve less linked math mathematical mathematician million multiplication principle newspaper nonlinear normal normal distribution paper paradox percentage perfect game person Philadelphia Inquirer pint political poll population positive possible predictions prefer problem question random readers reasons reported result risk Rubik's Cube sample scores segment self-referential Senate sequence significant social someone sometimes sort STANISLAW LEM statements statistics stories tax rate television theorem theory tion tive truth-teller Tsongas