The Jungles of Randomness: A Mathematical Safari Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Jungles of Randomness: A Mathematical Safari Book

We use the word random as though we understood what it meant, but, of course, its superficial meaning only betrays our deep ignorance of what is really going on. Random is mostly used to label anything we can't predict, from the roll of a die to our spouse's next major purchase, but what's actually happening to cause the unanticipated results? Ivars Peterson makes this complexity simple in The Jungles of Randomness. As the mathematics and physics editor of Science News, Peterson knows his topic thoroughly and writes with a flair that stimulates the imagination. Whether telling about snowflake-shaped drums; brilliant, eccentric Paul Erdös's geometrical fantasies; or unbreakable and nearly unbreakable codes, he knows just when and where to open a topic a bit further to provoke greater insights. The eight gorgeous color plates and dozens of illustrations are well chosen and complement the text without overwhelming it. Inevitably, The Jungles of Randomness touches on subjects as diverse as molecular biology, engineering, and entomology, but it stays rooted in the field from which our understanding of complexity first arose: mathematics. A fascinating and underreported field, math is finally getting the mainstream attention it has always deserved, and it's not hard to understand why with exciting books like this pointing the way. Where this will lead us is anyone's guess, but the die is cast. --Rob Lightner Read More

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    Praise for The Jungles of Randomness

    "Ivars Peterson is, in short, the math teacher everyone wishes they had in high school." â??Publishers Weekly

    "When many people think about mathematicians, they imagine solitary scholars whiling away the hours . . . Ivars Peterson delightfully debunks that stereotype. Peterson shows that mathematicians are, increasingly, a gregarious bunch and that the problems they work on are vitally important to us. . . . Best of all, Peterson makes it fun." â??Washington Post

    "Peterson has honed his explanatory skills finely. He is a readable guide through the tangles of probability and random chance. The Jungles of Randomness will give some insight into one of the most fruitful areas where math meets practical living." â??Christian Science Monitor

    "Peterson finds a fascinating collection of circumstances where chance intervenes in our lives and in the world around us. Every reader, regardless of background, is bound to find something new and interesting in this book." â??Robert Osserman Author of Poetry of the Universe

    IVARS PETERSON is one of today's most popular math authors. He is the mathematics and physics editor of Science News, and the author of four previous books, including the bestselling The Mathematical Tourist and Islands of Truth: A Mathematical Mystery Cruise. Mr. Peterson received the award for "exceptional skill in communicating mathematics to the general audience" in 1991 from the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics.

  • 0471295876
  • 9780471295877
  • Ivars Peterson, Avars Peterson
  • 1 November 1998
  • John Wiley & Sons
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 239
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