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Bibliographic Details

Title: Once Upon A Number: The Hidden Mathematical Logic Of Stories
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication Date: 1999
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0465051596
ISBN 13: 9780465051595
Binding: paperback
Condition: Very Good
Weight: 0.55 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

What two things could be more different than numbers and stories? Numbers are abstract, certain, and eternal, but to most of us somewhat dry and bloodless. Good stories are full of life: they engage our emotions and have subtlety and nuance, but they lack rigor and the truths they tell are elusive and subject to debate. As ways of understanding the world around us, numbers and stories seem almost completely incompatible. Once Upon a Number shows that stories and numbers aren't as different as you might imagine, and in fact they have surprising and fascinating connections. The concepts of logic and probability both grew out of intuitive ideas about how certain situations would play out. Now, logicians are inventing ways to deal with real world situations by mathematical means -- by acknowledging, for instance, that items that are mathematically interchangeable may not be interchangeable in a story. And complexity theory looks at both number strings and narrative strings in remarkably similar terms. Throughout, renowned author John Paulos mixes numbers and narratives in his own delightful style. Along with lucid accounts of cutting-edge information theory we get hilarious anecdotes and jokes; instructions for running a truly impressive pyramid scam; a freewheeling conversation between Groucho Marx and Bertrand Russell (while they're stuck in an elevator together); explanations of why the statistical evidence against OJ Simpson was overwhelming beyond doubt and how the Unabomber's thinking shows signs of mathematical training; and dozens of other treats. This is another winner from America's favorite mathematician.

About the Author

John Allen Paulos is a professor of mathematics at Temple University. His books include the bestseller Innumeracy, A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market, and Irreligion. He lives in Philadelphia.

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Roundabout Books is a bookstore for book people: an independent, locally-owned bookstore in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. Our physical shop is located in the old Diamond-Electric Soap Factory at 85 Pierce Street, just two blocks off Federal Street in Greenfield. We offer an extensive, organized, and thoughtful collection of used and new books at excellent prices. We hope you will find our store welcoming and that our love of books shows through in our work. If you are here in-person, come wander and browse an expansive collection of all genres, including poetry, science, history, literature in translation, and university presses. Enjoy our historic industrial building transformed, and envisioned as accessible and environmentally sustainable for the future. Please stop in or give us a call if you have questions for us!

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Roundabout Books, Inc.
16 West St., Greenfield, MA, 01301, U.S.A.

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