It is easy to be wary of mathematics - but as this book shows, drawing on science, literature and philosophy, its patterns are evrywhere. In witty and eloquent prose, Robert and Ellen Kaplan take mathematics back to its estranged audience, bringing understanding and clarity to a traditionally difficult subject, and revealing the beauty behind the equations. Only by letting loose our curiosity can we learn to appreciate the wonder that can be found in mathematics - an 'art' invented by humans, which is also timeless.

The Art of the Infinite : Our Lost Language of Numbers

Ellen Kaplan

Penguin??Books

A dazzling new work of popular science and psychology for readers who enjoyed Blink, Stumbling on Happiness, or The Black Swan. 
The New York Times called the Kaplans' look at probability in everyday life, Chances Are..., "a dizzying, exhilarating ride." Now they take readers on a new fun-house tour―exploring the burgeoning science of why humans make mistakes. 
Our species, it appears, is hardwired to get things wrong in myriad different ways. Why did recipients of a loan offer accept a higher rate of interest when a pretty woman's face was printed on the flyer? Why did one poll on immigration find the most despised aliens were ones from a group that did not exist? What made four of the air force's best pilots fly their planes, in formation, straight into the ground? Why does giving someone power make him more likely to chew with his mouth open and pick his nose? And why is your sister going out with that biker dude? 
In fact, our cognitive, logical, and romantic failures may be a fair price for our extraordinary success as a species―they are the necessary cost of our adaptability. Michael and Ellen Kaplan swoop effortlessly across neurochemistry, behavioral economics, and evolutionary biology, among other disciplines, to answer, with both clarity and wit, the questions above―and larger ones about what it means to be human.

Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human

Michael Kaplan

Science & Math

Bloomsbury Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ellen Kaplan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ellen Kaplan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ellen Kaplan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Art of the Infinite : Our Lost Language of Numbers

Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human