The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty

K. C. Cole

Mariner Books | 1999 | 224 páginas | rar - epub | 250 kb

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Mathematics, that breathtaking invention of ours that reveals the tiniest particles of matter and takes us to the outermost reaches of the cosmos, is found by many people to be intimidating. In The Universe and the Teacup, K. C. Cole demystifies mathematics and shows us-with humor and wonderfully accessible stories-why math need not be frightening. Using the O. J. Simpson trial, the bell curve, and Emmy Noether, the nineteenth-century woman scientist whose work was essential for Einstein's theory of relativity, Cole helps us see that more than just being a tool, math is a key to understanding the beauty of everything from rainbows to relativity.

Contents
ch. 1. What's math got to do with it
pt 1. Where mind meets math
ch. 2. Exponential amplification
ch. 3. Calculated risks
pt. 2. Interpreting the physical world
ch. 4. Measure of man, woman, and thing
ch. 5. Matter of scale
ch. 6. Emerging properties: more is different
ch. 7. Mathematics of prediction
ch. 8. Signal in the haystack
pt. 3. Interpreting the social world
ch. 9. Voting: Lani Guinier was right
ch. 10. Fair division: the wisdom of Solomon
ch. 11. Mathematics of kindness: math proves the golden rule
pt. 4. Mathematics of truth
ch. 12. Truth about why things happen
ch. 13. Burden of proof
ch. 14. Emmy and Albert: the unvarying nature of truth.