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The joy of X : a guided tour of math, from one to infinity

by Strogatz, Steven,

Format: Print Book 2012
Availability: Available at 10 Libraries 10 of 14 copies

Available (10)
Location Collection Call #
C.C. Mellor Memorial Library Non Fiction 510 Str
Location  C.C. Mellor Memorial Library
 
Collection  Non Fiction
 
Call Number  510 Str
 
 
CLP - Brookline Non-Fiction Collection QA93.S77 2012
Location  CLP - Brookline
 
Collection  Non-Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  QA93.S77 2012
 
 
CLP - East Liberty Non-Fiction Collection QA93.S77 2012
Location  CLP - East Liberty
 
Collection  Non-Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  QA93.S77 2012
 
 
CLP - Main Library Second Floor - Non-fiction QA93.S77 2012
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Second Floor - Non-fiction
 
Call Number  QA93.S77 2012
 
 
Carnegie Library of McKeesport Nonfiction 510 St87
Location  Carnegie Library of McKeesport
 
Collection  Nonfiction
 
Call Number  510 St87
 
 
Community Library of Castle Shannon Non Fiction 510 Strogatz
Location  Community Library of Castle Shannon
 
Collection  Non Fiction
 
Call Number  510 Strogatz
 
 
Cooper-Siegel Community Library Non-Fiction 510 STR
Location  Cooper-Siegel Community Library
 
Collection  Non-Fiction
 
Call Number  510 STR
 
 
Mt. Lebanon Public Library Non-Fiction 510 Str
Location  Mt. Lebanon Public Library
 
Collection  Non-Fiction
 
Call Number  510 Str
 
 
Northern Tier Regional Library Nonfiction 510 STROG
Location  Northern Tier Regional Library
 
Collection  Nonfiction
 
Call Number  510 STROG
 
 
Sewickley Public Library Nonfiction 510 STR 2012
Location  Sewickley Public Library
 
Collection  Nonfiction
 
Call Number  510 STR 2012
 
 
 
Unavailable (4)
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CLP - South Side Non-Fiction Collection CHECKED OUT
Location  CLP - South Side
 
Collection  Non-Fiction Collection
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 
Northland Public Library Nonfiction CHECKED OUT
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Collection  Nonfiction
 
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South Park Library Nonfiction CHECKED OUT
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Upper St. Clair Township Library Non-fiction ON HOLDSHELF
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Summary
A world-class mathematician and regular contributor to the New York Times hosts a delightful tour of the greatest ideas of math, revealing how it connects to literature, philosophy, law, medicine, art, business, even pop culture in ways we never imagined

Did O.J. do it? How should you flip your mattress to get the maximum wear out of it? How does Google search the Internet? How many people should you date before settling down? Believe it or not, math plays a crucial role in answering all of these questions and more.

Math underpins everything in the cosmos, including us, yet too few of us understand this universal language well enough to revel in its wisdom, its beauty -- and its joy. This deeply enlightening, vastly entertaining volume translates math in a way that is at once intelligible and thrilling. Each trenchant chapter of The Joy of x offers an "aha!" moment, starting with why numbers are so helpful, and progressing through the wondrous truths implicit in π, the Pythagorean theorem, irrational numbers, fat tails, even the rigors and surprising charms of calculus. Showing why he has won awards as a professor at Cornell and garnered extensive praise for his articles about math for the New York Times , Strogatz presumes of his readers only curiosity and common sense. And he rewards them with clear, ingenious, and often funny explanations of the most vital and exciting principles of his discipline.

Whether you aced integral calculus or aren't sure what an integer is, you'll find profound wisdom and persistent delight in The Joy of x .
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "When Strogatz invites grade-schoolers to construct Mobius strips with scissors, crayons, and tape, he is not expecting them to discover revolutionary new mathematical principles. But he does expect them to experience the kind of intellectual joy that sustains a lifetime of mathematical inquiry. Readers share that joy by joining Strogatz on a high-spirited romp through complex numbers, standard deviations, infinite sums, differential equations, and other mathematical playgrounds. The math arrives in such delightful episodes a hike through a snow-covered field, for example, or an excited dinner conversation over symbols scribbled on a napkin and is so often connected to poetry, sports, and popular TV shows that even math phobes will find themselves swept up in the fun. (Who knew that The Sopranos could help us fathom calculus?) To be sure, Strogatz occasionally points well-schooled readers to the rigorous analyses identified in his endnotes. But even those reluctant to venture into deeper waters will finish this book with a new relish for mathematics as a thrilling adventure, not a dreary chore.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2010 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Even the most math-phobic readers might forget their dread after just a few pages of Strogatz's (The Calculus of Friendship) latest. The author, a Cornell professor of applied mathematics, begins with arithmetic, by way of Sesame Street, then explores algebra, geometry, and, finally, the wonders of calculus-all done cheerfully, with many a wry turn of phrase. From addition and subtraction, with a glimpse into negative numbers and "the black art of borrowing," it's a quick step into the hardcore detective work of algebra's search for the unknown x, with algorithms like the quadratic equation, "the Rodney Dangerfield of algebra" ("it don't get no respect"). Strogatz rhapsodizes over geometry, which he sees as a marriage of logic and intuition that teaches how to build arguments, step by rigorous step, and geometry's "loosey-goosey" offshoot, topology. Brisk chapters on prime numbers, basic statistics, and probability are all enlightening without being intimidating. Most impressive is Strogatz's coverage of calculus, the math used to figure out everything from how fast epidemics spread to the trajectory of a curveball. Readers will appreciate this lighthearted and thoroughly entertaining book. Illus. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Mathematics -- Popular works.
Publisher Boston :Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,2012
Language English
Description xii, 316 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography Notes Includes bibliographical references (pages [261]-306) and index.
ISBN 9780547517650
0547517653 (hardback)
9780544105850 (pbk.)
0544105850 (pbk.)
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