Get in the Game (Paperback)

Tim Chartier

ISBN 10: 022681114X / ISBN 13: 9780226811147

Published by The University of Chicago Press, 2022

About this Item

Paperback. A mathematician, who has advised the US Olympic Committee, NFL, and NBA, offers sports fans a new way to understand truly improbable feats in their favorite games. In 2013, NBA shooter Steph Curry wowed crowds when he sunk eleven out of thirteen three-pointersonly seven other players, including the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, had scored more in the history of games at Madison Square Garden. Four years later, the University of Connecticut womens basketball team won their one-hundredth straight game, defeating South Carolina 6655. And in 2010, one sports forecasteran octopus named Paulcorrectly predicted the outcome of all of Germanys matches in the FIFA World Cup. These are surprising eventsbut are they truly improbable? In Get in the Game, mathematician and sports analytics expert Tim Chartier helps us answer that questioncondensing complex data modeling down to coin tosses and dice throws to give readers both an introduction to statistics and a new way to enjoy sporting events. With these accessible tools, Chartier leads us through modeling experiments that develop our intuitive sense of the improbable. For example, to see how likely you are to beat Currys three-pointer feat, consider his 45.3 percent three-point shooting average in 201213. Take a coin and assume heads is making the shot (slightly better than Curry at a fifty percent chance). Can you imagine getting heads eleven out of thirteen times? With engaging exercises and fun, comic bookstyle illustrations by Ansley Earle, Chartiers book encourages all readersincluding those who have never encountered formal statistics, data simulations, or even heard of sports analytics, but enjoy watching sportsto get in the game. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780226811147

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Get in the Game (Paperback)
• Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 022681114X
• ISBN 13: 9780226811147
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Earle, Ansley
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

An award-winning math popularizer, who has advised the US Olympic Committee, NFL, and NBA, offers sports fans a new way to understand truly improbable feats in their favorite games.
 
In 2013, NBA point guard Steph Curry wowed crowds when he sunk 11 out of 13 three-pointers for a game total of 54 points—only seven other players, including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, had scored more in a game at Madison Square Garden. Four years later, the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team won its hundredth straight game, defeating South Carolina 66–55. And in 2010, one forecaster—an octopus named Paul—correctly predicted the outcome of all of Germany’s matches in the FIFA World Cup. These are surprising events—but are they truly improbable?
 
In Get in the Game, mathematician and sports analytics expert Tim Chartier helps us answer that question—condensing complex mathematics down to coin tosses and dice throws to give readers both an introduction to statistics and a new way to enjoy sporting events. With these accessible tools, Chartier leads us through modeling experiments that develop our intuitive sense of the improbable. For example, to see how likely you are to beat Curry’s three-pointer feat, consider his 45.3 percent three-point shooting average in 2012–13. Take a coin and assume heads is making the shot (slightly better than Curry at a fifty percent chance). Can you imagine getting heads eleven out of thirteen times? With engaging exercises and fun, comic book–style illustrations by Ansley Earle, Chartier’s book encourages all readers—including those who have never encountered formal statistics or data simulations, or even heard of sports analytics, but who enjoy watching sports—to get in the game.

About the Author

Tim Chartier is the Joseph R. Morton Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Davidson College. He has fielded analytics questions from ESPN, the New York Times, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and teams in the NBA, NFL, and NASCAR. Among his numerous books, he is the author of Math Bytes: Google Bombs, Chocolate-Covered Pi, and Other Cool Bits in Computing.