Adam Spencer's World of Numbers


Book Description

This is a specially formatted fixed-layout ebook that retains the look and feel of the print book. ‘Funny, yet with hidden depths – like its author.’ Brian Cox From the building blocks of life, to the games we play, the food we eat, and the marvels of space, Australia’s funniest mathematician is back with a fascinating snapshot of the world of numbers. What’s a ‘firkin’? Is a tardigrade animal, vegetable or mineral? How fast is Usain Bolt ... really? And what’s the record for the most lobster rolls eaten in 10 minutes? All these questions and more are answered in Adam Spencer’s World of Numbers. This is a book for young and old – for anyone who’s ever wondered how things work, who loves puzzles and numbers, or is just plain curious about the amazing world around us. After his bestselling Big Book of Numbers, Australia’s funniest and most famous mathematician is back by popular demand! Adam Spencer has been entertaining us for almost 20 years on triple j, ABC radio and television. You can find him on Twitter @adambspencer, on the web at adamspencer.com.au and on Facebook. Praise for Adam Spencer’s Big Book of Numbers ‘Funny, informative and, even better for dummies like me, all the answers are in the back.’ Wil Anderson ‘If you find this book boring, you should be in a clinic.’ John Cleese ‘Every bright young mind in Australia should read Adam Spencer’s Big Book of Numbers – and we oldies would benefit too.’ Peter FitzSimons ‘Even the page numbers will start to look fascinating once you’ve read this book!’ Amanda Keller




Adam Spencer's Maths 101


Book Description

Maths explained for number challenged parents and children




Adam Spencer's Big Book of Numbers


Book Description

How can a prime number be ‘sexy’ and ‘safe’ at the same time? Why shouldn’t Aussie cricketers be scared of the number 87? And how many bacteria live in your pants … All the answers and more are in Adam Spencer’s Big Book of Numbers. This is a book for readers of all ages who love numbers, who want to love numbers, or who just love to laugh and learn about the wonderful world we live in. For 15 years Adam Spencer has been entertaining us. On triple j and ABC radio and television, he’s established himself as Australia’s funniest and most famous mathematician. And now, by popular demand, we have his Big Book of Numbers, a fascinating journey from 1 to 100. Praise for Adam Spencer’s Big Book of Numbers ‘If you find this book boring, you should be in a clinic.’ John Cleese ‘Funny yet with hidden depths, like its author. A brilliant introduction to the world of numbers.’ Brian Cox ‘Even the page numbers will start to look fascinating once you’ve read this book!’ Amanda Keller ‘This book will bring out the inner geek in anyone who knows how to count to 100.’ Brian Schmidt, Winner, 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics ‘Funny, informative and, even better for dummies like me, all the answers are in the back.’ Wil Anderson ‘Excellent. Can’t wait to geek-out my dinner party guests with my new maths facts!’ Maryanne Demasi, Catalyst, ABC Television




The Engineer


Book Description




The Zoological Record


Book Description







In Search of Wealth and Power


Book Description

In a serious effort to divine the secret of the West's success in achieving wealth and power, Yen Fu, a Chinese thinker, undertook, at the turn of the century, years of laborious translation and commentary on the work of such thinkers as Spencer, Huxley, Adam Smith, Mill, and Montesquieu. In addition to the inevitable difficulties involved in translating modern English into classical Chinese, Yen Fu was faced with the formidable problem of interpreting and making palatable many Western ideas which were to a large extent antithetical to traditional Chinese thought. In an absorbing study of Yen Fu's translations, essays, and commentaries, Benjamin Schwartz examines the modifications and consequent revaluation of these familiar works as they were presented to their new audience, and analyzes the impact of this Western thought on the Chinese culture of the time. Drawing on a unique knowledge of both intellectual traditions, Schwartz describes the diverse and complex effects of this confrontation of Eastern and Western philosophies and provides a new vantage point to assess and appreciate these two disparate worlds.




Math Education for America?


Book Description

Math Education for America? analyzes math education policy through the social network of individuals and private and public organizations that influence it in the United States. The effort to standardize a national mathematics curriculum for public schools in the U.S. culminated in 2010 when over 40 states adopted the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Rather than looking at the text of specific policy documents, this book complements existing critical reviews of the national math education curriculum by employing a unique social network analysis. Breaking new ground in detailing and theorizing the politics of math education, Wolfmeyer argues that the private interests of this network are closely tied to a web of interrelated developments: human capital education policy, debates over traditional and reform pedagogy, the assumed content knowledge deficit of math teachers, and the proliferation of profit-driven educational businesses. By establishing the interconnectedness of these interests with the national math education curriculum, he shows how the purported goals of math education reform are aligned with the prevailing political agendas of this social network rather than the national interest.




Economic Woman


Book Description

The ways in which women are portrayed in Victorian novels can provide important insights into how people of the day thought about political economy, and vice versa. In Economic Woman, Deanna K. Kreisel innovatively shows how images of feminized sexuality in novels by George Eliot and Thomas Hardy reflected widespread contemporary anxieties about the growth of capitalism. Economic Woman is the first book to address directly the links between classical political economy and gender in the novel. Examining key works by Eliot and Hardy, including The Mill on the Floss and Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Kreisel investigates the meaning of two female representations: the ‘economic woman,’ who embodies idealized sexual restraint and wise domestic management, and the degraded prostitute, characterized by sexual excess and economic turmoil. Kreisel effectively integrates economic thought with literary analysis to contribute to an ongoing and lively scholarly discussion.