In 2010, award-winning professor Steven Strogatz wrote a series for the New York Times online called The Elements of Math. It was hugely popular: Each piece climbed the most emailed list and elicited hundreds of comments. Readers begged for more, and Strogatz has now delivered. In this fun, fast-paced book, he offers us all a second chance at math. Each short chapter of The Joy of X provides an Aha! moment, starting with why numbers are helpful,...

The world's greatest mental mathematical magician takes us on a spellbinding journey through the wonders of numbers (and more)
"Arthur Benjamin . . . joyfully shows you how to make nature's numbers dance." — Bill Nye (the science guy)
The Magic of Math is the math book you wish you had in school. Using a delightful assortment of examples-from ice-cream scoops and poker hands to measuring mountains and making magic squares-this...

Logic is intellectual self-defense against such assaults on reason and also a method of quality control for checking the validity of your own views. But beyond these very practical benefits, informal logic—the kind we apply in daily life—is the gateway to an elegant and fascinating branch of philosophy known as formal logic, which is philosophy’s equivalent to calculus. Formal logic is a breathtakingly versatile tool. Much like a Swiss army...

Introduces graphs, describes the different types, and discusses how to obtain data and use it to create a graph.

"An elegant and amusing account" of how gambling has been reshaped by the application of science and revealed the truth behind a lucky bet (Wall Street Journal). For the past 500 years, gamblers-led by mathematicians and scientists-have been trying to figure out how to pull the rug out from under Lady Luck. In The Perfect Bet, mathematician and award-winning writer Adam Kucharski tells the astonishing story of how the experts have succeeded, revolutionizing...

In a book for those who dislike mathematics, an alien explains the many areas in which math is used, including baking, music, navigation, and measurements.

Another indispensable number to learn ise= 2.71828 ... Defined as the base of the natural logarithm,eplays a central role in calculus, and it arises naturally in many spheres of mathematics, including calculations of compound interest.

Leap into puzzles and mind-benders that teach you the rudiments of game theory. Divide loot with bloodthirsty pirates, ponder the two-envelope problem, learn about Newcomb's paradox, visit the island where everyone has blue eyes, and try your luck at prisoner's dilemma.

Discover that by following basic rules on how to treat coefficients and exponents, you can reduce very complicated algebraic expressions to much simpler ones. You start by using the commutative property of multiplication to rearrange the terms of an expression, making combining them relatively easy.