200% of Nothing: An Eye-Opening Tour through the Twists and Turns of Math Abuse and Innumeracy - Softcover

Dewdney, A. K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471145742 ISBN 13: 9780471145745

Publisher: Wiley, 1996

Synopsis

Acclaim for "In today's world, 'innumeracy' is an even greaterdanger than illiteracy, and is perhaps even more common.Advertisers and politicians exploit it; intellectuals (self-styled)even flaunt it. I hope that this wise and witty book will providecures where they are possible, and warnings where they arenecessary.

"It's also a lot of fun. I can guarantee that 100%."--Arthur C.Clarke

"Dewdney retells with charm and wit magnificent morsels ofmathematical mayhem discovered by his army of volunteer 'abusedetectives.' From 'sample trashing' to 'numerical terrorism,' from'percentage pumping' to 'dimensional dementia,' 200% of Nothingplumbs the depths of innumeracy in daily life and reveals whatordinary people can do about it.

A rich, readable, instructive, and persuasive book."--Lynn ArthurSteen, Professor of Mathematics, St. Olaf College

About this title

Review

If you know the difference between lies, damned lies, and statistics, give a copy of A.K. Dewdney's 200% of Nothing to your friends to get them up to speed. If you don't know the difference, consider this funny, engaging little book a crash course in numeracy, the mathematical equivalent of literacy. Opening with two chapters on the importance of this dying talent, Dewdney (formerly Scientific American's "Mathematical Recreations" writer) spooks the reader with real examples of government agencies, media outlets, and--of course--car salesmen deceiving their audiences with beguiling mathematical sleights of hand. It's all too easy for us to think we're immune to such tactics until we actually see them laid out for us in prose as clear and disarming as Dewdney's. From these tactics he delves more deeply into practical examples of particular problems that often catch us unaware. Gambling, advertisements using bizarre-but-normal-looking charts, and bad science all come in for thorough examinations, and the reader is amazed and occasionally angered at the shamelessness of the purveyors of misleading statistics. The book closes with two chapters designed to make readers "mathematically streetwise," with exercises to help you grasp ratios, very large and small numbers, and probabilities more intuitively. 200% of Nothing inspires learning and makes it interesting--if you want to see through the fog of numbers surrounding politicians and advertisements, there's no better place to start. --Rob Lightner

From the Publisher

A revealing look at the variety of methods used by advertisers, politicians and corporations to mislead and manipulate the public by means of fancy mathematical footwork. A prominent mathematics author and columnist shows how this mathematical abuse is accomplished, how to recognize it and avoid it. Contains hundreds of actual examples of mathematical chicanery. The last chapter provides further explanations of the mathematics underlying the manipulators covered in each chapter.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0471145742
• ISBN 13: 9780471145745
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 194