Zombies and Calculus - Hardcover

Adams, Colin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691161909 ISBN 13: 9780691161907

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2014

Synopsis

How can calculus help you survive the zombie apocalypse? Colin Adams, humor columnist for the Mathematical Intelligencer and one of today's most outlandish and entertaining popular math writers, demonstrates how in this zombie adventure novel.

Zombies and Calculus is the account of Craig Williams, a math professor at a small liberal arts college in New England, who, in the middle of a calculus class, finds himself suddenly confronted by a late-arriving student whose hunger is not for knowledge. As the zombie virus spreads and civilization crumbles, Williams uses calculus to help his small band of survivors defeat the hordes of the undead. Along the way, readers learn how to avoid being eaten by taking advantage of the fact that zombies always point their tangent vector toward their target, and how to use exponential growth to determine the rate at which the virus is spreading. Williams also covers topics such as logistic growth, gravitational acceleration, predator-prey models, pursuit problems, the physics of combat, and more. With the aid of his story, you too can survive the zombie onslaught.

Featuring easy-to-use appendixes that explain the book's mathematics in greater detail, Zombies and Calculus is suitable both for those who have only recently gotten the calculus bug, as well as for those whose disease has advanced to the multivariable stage.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"If you're dying to read a novel treatment of calculus, then you should run (don't walk!) to buy Zombies and Calculus by Colin Adams. You'll see calculus come alive in a way that could save your life someday."--Arthur Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College

"Before Zombies and Calculus, math was quick to kill my appetite. In fact, math damn near killed me altogether throughout most of college (it is of course a cliché to say that as a math student I was pretty much a zombie). If I had only had this book then . . . at least now I can stomach derivatives as well as a zombie outbreak. That's no small accomplishment! Read Zombies and Calculus--you'll laugh . . . you'll cry . . . you'll multiply."--Steven C. Schlozman, M.D., author of The Zombie Autopsies

"Using a fictional, tongue-in-cheek account of an outbreak of a zombie virus at a small liberal arts college, Adams discusses mathematical subjects such as the spread of a disease in a population, differential equations, and tangent vectors. He succeeds in conveying the idea that calculus is useful in numerous aspects of life--including surviving a zombie apocalypse. The book is one of a kind."--Joel Hass, University of California, Davis

"Zombies and Calculus shows how calculus can be used to understand many different real-world phenomena, from population growth to Newton's law of cooling. The fast-paced narrative propels readers forward, and Adams's style is humorous and compelling. I laughed out loud, in public, several times while reading this book. I had a hard time putting it down."--Amy N. Myers, Bryn Mawr College

"Zombies and Calculus is unlike just about anything I've ever read. It is both an introduction to assorted math concepts and an action-packed adventure story about escaping a zombie invasion. It's also laugh-out-loud funny in many places."--Meredith L. Greer, Bates College

About the Author

Colin Adams is professor of mathematics at Williams College and the author of many books, including How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide. He is also the humor columnist for Mathematical Intelligencer.

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0691161909
• ISBN 13: 9780691161907
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 240