How Not to Be Wrong
 Paperback edition | |
| Author | Jordan Ellenberg |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Mathematics |
| Publisher | Penguin Group |
Publication date | May 29, 2014 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 468 pp. |
| ISBN | 978-1594205224 |
How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking, written by Jordan Ellenberg, is a book that connects various economic and socialistic philosophies with basic mathematics and statistical principles.[1][2]
Summary
How Not to Be Wrong explains the mathematics behind some of simplest day-to-day thinking.[3] It then goes into more complex decisions people make.[4][5] For example, Ellenberg explains that the many misnomers about lotteries and whether or not they can be mathematically beaten.[6][7]
Ellenberg uses mathematics to examine real-world issues ranging from the fetishizing of straight lines in the reporting of obesity to the game theory of missing flights, from the relevance to digestion of regression to the mean to the counter-intuitive Berkson’s paradox.[6][8]
Reception
Bill Gates endorsed How Not to Be Wrong and included it in his 2016 "5 Books to Read This Summer" list.[9][10]
The Washington Post reported that the book is “brilliantly engaging… part of the sheer intellectual joy of the book is watching the author leap nimbly from topic to topic, comparing slime molds to the Bush–Gore Florida vote, criminology to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The final effect is of one enormous mosaic unified by mathematics.”[11]
The Wall Street Journal said, “Mr. Ellenberg writes, a kind of 'X-ray specs that reveal hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of the world.”[12] The Guardian wrote, “Ellenberg's prose is a delight – informal and robust, irreverent yet serious.”[13] How Not to Be Wrong has also garnered reviews from The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, Times Higher Education, Salon, Scientific American, Publishers Weekly, among others.[14][15][16][17][18][19]
References
- ↑ Crace, John (2014-06-08). "How Not to Be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life by Jordan Ellenberg – digested read". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Review of 'How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking' by Jordan Ellenberg – The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
- ↑ Times, Los Angeles. "In 'How Not to Be Wrong' Jordan Ellenberg makes math meaningful". LA Times.
- ↑ Bird, Review by Orlando (2014-06-13). "'How Not To Be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life', by Jordan Ellenberg". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766.
- ↑ Ellenberg, Jordan (2014-06-13). "How I Was Wrong". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339.
- 1 2 "Thinking Inside the Box | On Wisconsin". OnWisconsin.
- ↑ "How to Get Rich Playing the Lottery | Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org.
- ↑ "Mathematician Explains How To Figure Out What Time To Get To The Airport Before Your Flight". Business Insider.
- ↑ Gates, Bill. "How Math Secretly Affects Your Life". www.gatesnotes.com.
- ↑ Gates, Bill. "5 Books to Read This Summer". www.gatesnotes.com.
- ↑ Suri, Manil (2014-06-13). "Book review: "How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking," by Jordan Ellenberg". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
- ↑ Livio, Mario (2014-06-13). "Book Review: 'How Not to Be Wrong' by Jordan Ellenberg". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660.
- ↑ Bellos, Alex (2014-06-13). "How Not to Be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life by Jordan Ellenberg – review". The Guardian.
- ↑ Ouellette, Jennifer (2014-08-01). "Jordan Ellenberg's 'How Not to Be Wrong,' and More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ↑ HOW NOT TO BE WRONG by Jordan Ellenberg | Kirkus Reviews.
- ↑ "How Not to Be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life, by Jordan Ellenberg". Times Higher Education. 2014-06-04.
- ↑ Miller, Laura. ""How Not to Be Wrong": What the literary world can learn from math". Salon.
- ↑ Lamb, Evelyn. "How Not to Be Wrong (Book Review)". Scientific American.
- ↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg. Penguin Press, $27.95 (480p) ISBN 978-1-59420-522-4". Publishers Weekly.