The Math Instinct: Why You're a Mathematical Genius (Along with Lobsters, Birds, Cats, and Dogs)

Devlin, Keith

ISBN 10: 156025839X / ISBN 13: 9781560258391

Published by Basic Books, 2006

A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. Dust jacket may be missing. Pages can include considerable highlighting markings writing but cannot obscure the text. May be an Ex-lib. copy and have standard library stamps and or stickers. May NOT include discs, or access code or other supplemental material. We ship Monday-Saturday and respond to inquiries within 24 hours. Seller Inventory # BXM.8EWM

Synopsis:

There are two kinds of math: the hard kind and the easy kind. The easy kind, practiced by ants, shrimp, Welsh corgis -- and us -- is innate. What innate calculating skills do we humans have? Leaving aside built-in mathematics, such as the visual system, ordinary people do just fine when faced with mathematical tasks in the course of the day. Yet when they are confronted with the same tasks presented as "math," their accuracy often drops. But if we have innate mathematical ability, why do we have to teach math and why do most of us find it so hard to learn? Are there tricks or strategies that the ordinary person can do to improve mathematical ability? Can we improve our math skills by learning from dogs, cats, and other creatures that "do math"? The answer to each of these questions is a qualified yes. All these examples of animal math suggest that if we want to do better in the formal kind of math, we should see how it arises from natural mathematics. From NPR's "Math Guy" -- The Math Instinct will provide even the most number-phobic among us with confidence in our own mathematical abilities.

About the Author: Keith Devlin is a Senior Researcher and Executive Director at Stanford's Center for the Study of Language and Information, a Consulting Professor in the Department of Mathematics, and a co-founder of the Stanford Media X research network. National Public Radio's "Math Guy," he is the author of over twenty-five books. He lives in Stanford, California.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Math Instinct: Why You're a Mathematical...
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication Date: 2006
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: acceptable