A celebrated mathematician explores how math helps us make sense of the unpredictable
We would like to believe we can know things for certain. We want to be able to figure out who will win an election, if the stock market will crash, or if a suspect definitely committed a crime. But the odds are not in our favor. Life is full of uncertainty --- indeed, scientific advances indicate that the universe might be fundamentally inexact --- and humans are terrible at guessing. When asked to predict the outcome of a chance event, we are almost always wrong.
Thankfully, there is hope. As award-winning mathematician Ian Stewart reveals, over the course of history, mathematics has given us some of the tools we need to better manage the uncertainty that pervades our lives. From forecasting, to medical research, to figuring out how to winLet's Make a Deal,Do Dice Play God? is a surprising and satisfying tour of what we can know, and what we never will.
Ian Stewartis emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick. His recent books includeCalculating the Cosmos,Significant Figures,In Pursuit of the Unknown, andProfessor Stewart's Hoard of Mathematical Treasures. He is a fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in Coventry, UK
[A] fascinating look at chaos theory and the uncertainties of the quantum universe.... Readers interested in whether Schr?dinger's famous cat is actually dead or alive, or how uncertain Heisenberg's uncertainty principle really is, will find in Stewart's survey a challenging but rewarding trip through a quantum world of uncertainties.
Publishers Weekly A definitely-not-dumbed-down exploration of predicting outcomes, whether of an election, card game, medical test, or weather front...every reader will encounter gems and jolts in this expert analysis of probability.
Kirkus Reviews As l3=
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