Why Do Buses Come in Threes: The Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life

Why is it better to buy a lottery ticket on a Friday? Is bad luck just chance, or can it be explained? Is it possible to win every time without cheating? And can math greatly increase your odds of getting a date and even falling in love? If you've had the sneaking suspicion ever since the third grade that math is conspiring against you—you're right. Math and the laws of probability are constantly at work in our lives, affecting everything we do from getting a date to catching a bus.
Why Do Buses Come in Threes? is a delightfully entertaining ride for anyone wanting to remind themselves—or discover for the first time—that math is relevant to almost everything we do. Buses that bunch, identical potato chips, and slicing a cake evenly for an odd number of guests all have their links to intriguing mathematical problems. With great humor and a genuine love for the subject, the authors present the solutions to such conundrums as how fast one should run in the rain to keep dry and who was the greatest sportsman statistically.
Discover the mathematical explanations for the strange coincidence of two Presidents dying on July 4, the uncanny "accuracy" of horoscopes, the number of petals on a flower and seeds in an apple, and other not-so-coincidental coincidences. Eastaway and Wyndham also reveal how television ratings work, which numbers are more likely to be big winners in the lottery, and why bad things, just like buses, always seem to happen in threes. It's a fascinating journey through the logic of life where Newton's laws explain bar fights, exploding rabbit populations, and why showers always run either too hot or too cold. For the kids, the authors have devoted an entire chapter to tricks that entertain, teach, and baffle children with the magical properties of numbers. So climb aboard, take a ride, and discover the hidden mathematical code to some of life's greatest (and most irritating) questions.
You may know 2+2, but do you know . . .
Which part of a moving train is always stationary, and which part is always traveling in the reverse direction to the train itself? How understanding Pascal's triangle can keep you from being overcharged in a New York taxicab? What popular lunch food has its own theorem? Why lights are always red when you're in a hurry? Why math, not the idiot in front of you, is to blame for your being stuck in long lines at the supermarket?
 Math: It isn't all in your head . . .

Humor & Entertainment

Eastaway, Rob

Wyndham, Jeremy

Puzzles & Games

wiley

Eastaway, Robert

Trade Paper Press

A fascinating book, from a leading maths educator and demystifier, that shows how maths is relevant to our everyday lives. 
Have you ever wondered how the meter in a taxi works? Or why a lift takes so long to respond to your call? Is there a mathematical secret to making a hit single? And how long is a piece of string? In this fascinating book you will find the answers to these and many other intriguing questions of everyday life. Discover the astonishing '37% rule' for blind dates, how to avoid the gentleman's urinal, and some extraordinary scams that people have devised to get rich quick. Here you will also find the origins of the seven-day week and the seven-note scale, an explanation of why underdogs sometimes win, some clever techniques for detecting fraud, and the reason why epidemics sweep across a nation and disappear just as quickly. 
How Long is a Piece of String? is the perfect book for anyone who is curious about the way in which maths underlies so much in our everyday lives. Whatever your mathematical ability level, you will find this book informative, thought-provoking and, most of all, fun. 
Word count: 35,000

How Long is a Piece of String?: More hidden mathematics of everyday life

Portico

An entertaining guide to how maths is relevant to our everyday lives. 
Why is it better to buy a lottery ticket on Friday? Why are showers always too hot or too cold? And which classic puzzle was destroyed by Allied bombing in the war? These and many other questions are answers in this entertaining and highly informative book. 
Why do Buses Come in Threes? is for anyone who wants to remind themselves – or discover for the first time – that maths is relevant to almost everything we do. Dating, cooking, travelling by car, gambling and life-saving techniques all have links with intriguing mathematical problems that you will find explained here – including the odd coincidence of 4 July, the exponential growth of Australian rabbits and a surprising formula for running in the rain without getting wet. Whether you have a degree in astrophysics or haven't touched maths since you left school, this book will change the way you view the world around you.

Why do Buses Come in Threes?: The hidden mathematics of everyday life

Reference

Coppie, numeri e frattali. Altra matematica nascosta nella vita quotidiana

Dedalo

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