How Not to Be Wrong


Book Description

A brilliant tour of mathematical thought and a guide to becoming a better thinker, How Not to Be Wrong shows that math is not just a long list of rules to be learned and carried out by rote. Math touches everything we do; It's what makes the world make sense. Using the mathematician's methods and hard-won insights-minus the jargon-professor and popular columnist Jordan Ellenberg guides general readers through his ideas with rigor and lively irreverence, infusing everything from election results to baseball to the existence of God and the psychology of slime molds with a heightened sense of clarity and wonder. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives. How Not to Be Wrong shows us how--Publisher's description.




Mathematics for Human Flourishing


Book Description

Winner of the Mathematics Association of America's 2021 Euler Book Prize, this is an inclusive vision of mathematics—its beauty, its humanity, and its power to build virtues that help us all flourish“This is perhaps the most important mathematics book of our time. Francis Su shows mathematics is an experience of the mind and, most important, of the heart.”—James Tanton, Global Math Project"A good book is an entertaining read. A great book holds up a mirror that allows us to more clearly see ourselves and the world we live in. Francis Su’s Mathematics for Human Flourishing is both a good book and a great book."—MAA Reviews For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity’s most beautiful ideas.In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award‑winning mathematician and educator weaves parables, puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires—such as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love—and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how mathematics is intimately tied to being human. Some lessons emerge from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother’s, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher’s letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can—and must—be open to all.




The Analytical Mind


Book Description

Enhance your logic, reason, judgment, and wisdom. Increase your ability to create concise and reasoned arguments using data and evidence, to get a genuine conclusion. The Analytical Mind aims to raise the level of your mental performance by focusing on the fundamentals of how to use your mind effectively. This book will show you how to:*Increase your ability to analyze problems and to comprehend what you read, hear, experience in a logical manner. *Examine the logical structure of good and bad reasoning. *Look at what type of evidence are decisions commonly based on.*Detect common fallacies and rhetorical and psychological factors that can influence your thinking. The book presents the methods that good problem solvers use in understanding complex ideas. It provides practice in applying these methods to a variety of comprehension, analytical, and reasoning questions. It also includes a number of logical thinking problems to hone your logical thinking skills. Use these intellectual skills to analyze anything you might think about - questions, problems, disciplines. *The most widely used forms of analysis.*Guidance and practice to monitor your thoughts with the help of intellectual tools.*Learn to question purposes, problems, information, and concepts.*Interdisciplinary analytical tools to understand and assess your own reasoning, be it about a highly technical question or your everyday life. The Analytical Mind helps you to find the most fundamental logic of any discipline, problem, or thesis. Transfer your knowledge between and among subjects and fields of observation. *Learn four types of profound analysis.*Learn to read and create statistical charts.*Learn and correct the most frequent errors in reasoning.*Learn to complement your analytical thinking tools with synthetic, systemic, critical, and creative thinking tools.Good analytical thinking skills are deeply necessary if you are working in business, education, law, politics, and economics. Understanding the underlying structure of a problem can help you come up with the best solution. Adopt analytical thinking skills to make better decisions, assess situations more accurately, and persuade other people with more success to consider your point of view. This book serves as a springboard toward analytic proficiency.




Street-Fighting Mathematics


Book Description

An antidote to mathematical rigor mortis, teaching how to guess answers without needing a proof or an exact calculation. In problem solving, as in street fighting, rules are for fools: do whatever works—don't just stand there! Yet we often fear an unjustified leap even though it may land us on a correct result. Traditional mathematics teaching is largely about solving exactly stated problems exactly, yet life often hands us partly defined problems needing only moderately accurate solutions. This engaging book is an antidote to the rigor mortis brought on by too much mathematical rigor, teaching us how to guess answers without needing a proof or an exact calculation. In Street-Fighting Mathematics, Sanjoy Mahajan builds, sharpens, and demonstrates tools for educated guessing and down-and-dirty, opportunistic problem solving across diverse fields of knowledge—from mathematics to management. Mahajan describes six tools: dimensional analysis, easy cases, lumping, picture proofs, successive approximation, and reasoning by analogy. Illustrating each tool with numerous examples, he carefully separates the tool—the general principle—from the particular application so that the reader can most easily grasp the tool itself to use on problems of particular interest. Street-Fighting Mathematics grew out of a short course taught by the author at MIT for students ranging from first-year undergraduates to graduate students ready for careers in physics, mathematics, management, electrical engineering, computer science, and biology. They benefited from an approach that avoided rigor and taught them how to use mathematics to solve real problems. Street-Fighting Mathematics will appear in print and online under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Share Alike license.




A Mind for Numbers


Book Description

Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. In her book, she offers you the tools needed to get a better grasp of that intimidating but inescapable field.




Making Number Talks Matter


Book Description

Making Number Talks Matter is about the myriad decisions facing teachers as they make this fifteen-minute daily routine a vibrant and vital part of their mathematics instruction. Throughout the book, Cathy Humphreys and Ruth Parker offer practical ideas for using Number Talks to help students learn to reason numerically and build a solid foundation for the study of mathematics. This book will be an invaluable resource whether you are already using Number Talks or not; whether you are an elementary, middle school, high school, or college teacher; or even if you are a parent wanting to support your child with mathematics. Using insight gained from many years of doing Number Talks with students of all ages, Cathy and Ruth address questions to ask during Number Talks, teacher moves that turn the thinking over to students, the mathematics behind the various strategies, and ways to overcome bumps in the road. If you've been looking for ways to transform your mathematics classroom--to bring sense-making and divergent thinking to the foreground, to bring the Standards for Mathematical Practice to life, and to bring joy back into your instruction--this book is for you.




Mathematical Mindsets


Book Description

Banish math anxiety and give students of all ages a clear roadmap to success Mathematical Mindsets provides practical strategies and activities to help teachers and parents show all children, even those who are convinced that they are bad at math, that they can enjoy and succeed in math. Jo Boaler—Stanford researcher, professor of math education, and expert on math learning—has studied why students don't like math and often fail in math classes. She's followed thousands of students through middle and high schools to study how they learn and to find the most effective ways to unleash the math potential in all students. There is a clear gap between what research has shown to work in teaching math and what happens in schools and at home. This book bridges that gap by turning research findings into practical activities and advice. Boaler translates Carol Dweck's concept of 'mindset' into math teaching and parenting strategies, showing how students can go from self-doubt to strong self-confidence, which is so important to math learning. Boaler reveals the steps that must be taken by schools and parents to improve math education for all. Mathematical Mindsets: Explains how the brain processes mathematics learning Reveals how to turn mistakes and struggles into valuable learning experiences Provides examples of rich mathematical activities to replace rote learning Explains ways to give students a positive math mindset Gives examples of how assessment and grading policies need to change to support real understanding Scores of students hate and fear math, so they end up leaving school without an understanding of basic mathematical concepts. Their evasion and departure hinders math-related pathways and STEM career opportunities. Research has shown very clear methods to change this phenomena, but the information has been confined to research journals—until now. Mathematical Mindsets provides a proven, practical roadmap to mathematics success for any student at any age.




Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12


Book Description

A thinking student is an engaged student Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.




Basic Training in Mathematics


Book Description

Based on course material used by the author at Yale University, this practical text addresses the widening gap found between the mathematics required for upper-level courses in the physical sciences and the knowledge of incoming students. This superb book offers students an excellent opportunity to strengthen their mathematical skills by solving various problems in differential calculus. By covering material in its simplest form, students can look forward to a smooth entry into any course in the physical sciences.




Learn Game Theory


Book Description

Master strategic thinking and gain competitive advantage. Have you ever wondered how to make better decisions and solve problems with more ease? Learn Game Theory shares the well-hidden secrets of great decision-makers.Use Logic and Reason to Manage Uncertainty.Life is full of uncertainty. You don't know what lies ahead. But you can learn to control the controllable by using logic and reason. With the help of this book, you'll discover new ways to think about - and solve - problems more efficiently than ever before. Discover how strategic games model real-life behavior. You would be surprised how many game theory concepts affect your life.Game theory is a management device that helps rational decision-making.Game Theory is a branch of mathematics dedicated to the study of rational, strategic decision-making. You can apply it in many different fields, from psychology, economics, and politics to military strategy, business, and even retail pricing! It focuses on conflict and cooperation between intelligent, rational players, analyzing how to optimize one's decisions, taking into account others' actions.This book won't just give you theoretical knowledge. It will teach you practical life skills! The logical deductions used in game theory can help you learn superior decision-making skills based on strategic analysis.Become Confident in Your Decision-Making Skills.Albert Rutherford is an internationally bestselling author and a retired corporate executive. His books draw on various sources, from corporate system building, strategic analysis, scientific research, and his life experience. He has been building and improving systems his whole adult life and brings his proven advice to you. Predict the future with more accuracy.What's the best way to ask for a raise?How to choose a date spot with your partner avoiding friction?How do top athletes choose their best moves?How do companies like Nike or Adidas optimize their sales strategy?Extraordinary decisions will lead to outstanding success. Use the principles of game theory to have more confidence in your choices. Learn Game Theory is written in a casual, easy-to-follow way, with an abundance of relevant examples. It will help you get shrewd by applying strategic thinking and make better decisions based on logic and analysis. Learn Game Theory and make better business decisions, improve your relationships, understand people around you, and get out of sticky situations more effectively!