Call numbers are a classification system used to organize books and other materials in a library. Most academic and research libraries in the U.S. utilize Library of Congress Classification and call numbers while public libraries and smaller academic libraries use the Dewey Decimal system. The letters and numbers that make up LC Classification represent classes and subclasses of subject areas. For example, books with a call number beginning with R are about topics concerned with the subject of Medicine.
Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Marvelous . . . an array of witty and astonishing stories . . . to illuminate how calculus has helped bring into being our contemporary world."--The Washington Post From preeminent math personality and author ofThe Joy of x, a brilliant and endlessly appealing explanation of calculus - how it works and why it makes our lives immeasurably better. Without calculus, we wouldn't have cell phones, TV, GPS, or ultrasound. We wouldn't have unraveled DNA or discovered Neptune or figured out how to put 5,000 songs in your pocket. Though many of us were scared away from this essential, engrossing subject in high school and college, Steven Strogatz's brilliantly creative, downâe'toâe'earth history shows that calculus is not about complexity; it's about simplicity. It harnesses an unreal number--infinity--to tackle realâe'world problems, breaking them down into easier ones and then reassembling the answers into solutions that feel miraculous. Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves (a phenomenon predicted by calculus). Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to make electricity with magnets; how to ensure your rocket doesn't miss the moon; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS. As Strogatz proves, calculus is truly the language of the universe. By unveiling the principles of that language,Infinite Powers makes us marvel at the world anew.
Ada Lovelace: Computer Programmer and Mathematician by
Born the daughter of well-established poet Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace would change history as one of the first modern female mathematicians and the programmer of Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. This is the story of her life, her amazing achievements, her death, and her footprint on history.
Adventures in Raspberry Pi by
Build cool Raspberry Pi projects with no experience required! Adventures in Raspberry Pi, 3rd Edition is the fun guide to learning programming. Starting from the very basics and building skill upon skill, you'll learn developing fundamentals--even if you've never programmed before. Learning is exciting when you're working your way through cool projects, but the concepts you learn and the skills you master will take you further than you ever thought possible. You'll learn how your Raspberry Pi 3 works and what it can do as you create stories and games, program shapes, code music, and even build Minecraft worlds with projects designed specifically for kids 11 to 15. Author Carrie Anne Philbin is a former high school teacher, and she showcases her skills with clear, easy to follow instructions and explanations every step of the way. If you're interested in programming but find other books hard to understand, this book is your ideal starting point for mastering the Raspberry Pi. Inexpensive, non-intimidating, yet surprisingly versatile, the Raspberry Pi 3 is an ideal way to learn programming. Updated to align with the newest board, this book will teach you fundamental programming skills while having a ton of fun! Get acquainted with your Raspberry Pi's bits and pieces Take control of your Pi's "insides" with simple commands Program games, code music, and build a jukebox Discover where your new skills can take you next The tiny, credit-card sized Raspberry Pi has become a huge hit among kids--and adults--interested in programming. It does everything your desktop can do, but with a few basic programming skills, you can make it do so much more.
Artificial Intelligence: Building Smarter Machines by
In 2011 a computer named Watson outscored two human competitors on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! and snagged the million-dollar prize. Watson isn't the only machine keeping up with humans. The field of artificial intelligence (AI) is booming, with drones, robots, and computers handling tasks that once only humans could perform. Such advances raise challenging questions. Do Watson and other computers really think? Can machines acquire self-awareness? Is AI a promising or a dangerous technology? No machine, not even Watson, yet comes close to matching human intelligence, but many scientists believe it is only a matter of time before we reach this milestone. What will such a future look like?
Computer Systems for Healthcare and Medicine by
The development of modern civilization leads us to solve new problems which did not exist before. The contemporary world faces a great challenge of aging societies, where increasing numbers of senior citizens require constant medical attention. Advanced technologies must be implemented to ensure the safety and well-being of elderly people, patients in hospitals, and disabled persons. These include both sophisticated data acquisition systems and data processing algorithms aimed at the constant and discreet monitoring of persons whilst raising alarm if immediate attention is required. Computer Systems for Healthcare and Medicinepresents a novel look at the introduced problems, including proposed solutions in the form of automated data acquisition and processing systems, which were tested in various environments. Characteristic features include a wide range of sensors used to monitor the situation of the person, and accurate decision making algorithms, often based on the computational intelligence domain. Technical topics discussed in the book include the following applications for healthcare: >>Infrared sensors >>MEMS >>Ultra wideband radars >>Deep learning >>Decision trees >>Artificial neural networks >>Gabor filters >>Decision support systems
Data Science for Dummies by
Data Science For Dummies is the perfect starting point for IT professionals and students who want a quick primer on all areas of the expansive data science space. With a focus on business cases, the book explores topics in big data, data science, and data engineering, and how these three areas are combined to produce tremendous value. If you want to pick-up the skills you need to begin a new career or initiate a new project, reading this book will help you understand what technologies, programming languages, and mathematical methods on which to focus. While this book serves as a wildly fantastic guide through the broad, sometimes intimidating field of big data and data science, it is not an instruction manual for hands-on implementation. Here's what to expect: Provides a background in big data and data engineering before moving on to data science and how it's applied to generate value Includes coverage of big data frameworks like Hadoop, MapReduce, Spark, MPP platforms, and NoSQL Explains machine learning and many of its algorithms as well as artificial intelligence and the evolution of the Internet of Things Details data visualization techniques that can be used to showcase, summarize, and communicate the data insights you generate.
The Error of Truth by
Quantitative thinking is our inclination to view natural and everyday phenomena through a lens of measurable events, with forecasts, odds, predictions, and likelihood playing a dominant part.The Error of Truth recounts the astonishing and unexpected tale of how quantitative thinking came to be, and its rise to primacy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Additionally, it considers how seeing the world through a quantitative lens has shaped our perception of the world welive in, and explores the lives of the individuals behind its early establishment.This worldview was unlike anything humankind had before, and it came about because of a momentous human achievement: we had learned how to measure uncertainty. Probability as a science was conceptualised. As a result of probability theory, we now had correlations, reliable predictions, regressions,the bellshaped curve for studying social phenomena, and the psychometrics of educational testing.Significantly, these developments happened during a relatively short period in world history- roughly, the 130-year period from 1790 to 1920, from about the close of the Napoleonic era, through the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolutions, to the end of World War I. At which time, transportationhad advanced rapidly, due to the invention of the steam engine, and literacy rates had increased exponentially. This brief period in time was ready for fresh intellectual activity, and it gave a kind of impetus for the probability inventions.Quantification is now everywhere in our daily lives, such as in the ubiquitous microchip in smartphones, cars, and appliances; in the Bayesian logic of artificial intelligence, as well as applications in business, engineering, medicine, economics, and elsewhere. Probability is the foundation ofquantitative thinking.The Error of Truth tells its story - when, why, and how it happened.
Internet of Things and Data Analytics Handbook by
This book examines the Internet of Things (IoT) and Data Analytics from a technical, application, and business point of view. Internet of Things and Data Analytics Handbook describes essential technical knowledge, building blocks, processes, design principles, implementation, and marketing for IoT projects. It provides readers with knowledge in planning, designing, and implementing IoT projects. The book is written by experts on the subject matter, including international experts from nine countries in the consumer and enterprise fields of IoT. The text starts with an overview and anatomy of IoT, ecosystem of IoT, communication protocols, networking, and available hardware, both present and future applications and transformations, and business models. The text also addresses big data analytics, machine learning, cloud computing, and consideration of sustainability that are essential to be both socially responsible and successful. Design and implementation processes are illustrated with best practices and case studies in action. In addition, the book: Examines cloud computing, data analytics, and sustainability and how they relate to IoT overs the scope of consumer, government, and enterprise applications Includes best practices, business model, and real-world case studies.
Learning Python with Raspberry Pi by
The must-have companion guide to the Raspberry Pi User Guide! Raspberry Pi chose Python as its teaching language of choice to encourage a new generation of programmers to learn how to program. This approachable book serves as an ideal resource for anyone wanting to use Raspberry Pi to learn to program and helps you get started with the Python programming language. Aimed at first-time developers with no prior programming language assumed, this beginner book gets you up and running. Covers variables, loops, and functions Addresses 3D graphics programming Walks you through programming Minecraft Zeroes in on Python for scripting Learning Python with Raspberry Pi proves itself to be a fantastic introduction to coding.
The Singularity: Could artificial intelligence really out-think us (and would we want it to)? by
This volume represents the combination of two special issues of the Journal of Consciousness Studies on the topic of the technological singularity. Could artificial intelligence really out-think us, and what would be the likely repercussions if it could? Leading authors contribute to the debate, which takes the form of a target chapter by philosopher David Chalmers, plus commentaries from the likes of Daniel Dennett, Nick Bostrom, Ray Kurzweil, Ben Goertzel, Frank Tipler, among many others. Chalmers then responds to the commentators to round off the discussion.
The Wiley Handbook of Human Computer Interaction by
Once, human-computer interaction was limited to a privileged few. Today, our contact with computing technology is pervasive, ubiquitous, and global. Work and study is computer mediated, domestic and commercial systems are computerized, healthcare is being reinvented, navigation is interactive, and entertainment is computer generated. As technology has grown more powerful, so the field of human-computer interaction has responded with more sophisticated theories and methodologies. Bringing these developments together, The Wiley Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction explores the many and diverse aspects of human-computer interaction while maintaining an overall perspective regarding the value of human experience over technology.
Engaging Minds in Science and Math Classrooms by
This book is brimming with ideas and activities that are aligned with standards and high expectations to engage and motivate all learners in STEM classrooms.
Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching by
Banish math anxiety and give students of all ages a clear roadmap to success Mathematical Mindsets provides practical strategies and activities to help teachers and parents show all children, even those who are convinced that they are bad at math, that they can enjoy and succeed in math. Jo Boaler--Stanford researcher, professor of math education, and expert on math learning--has studied why students don't like math and often fail in math classes. She's followed thousands of students through middle and high schools to study how they learn and to find the most effective ways to unleash the math potential in all students. There is a clear gap between what research has shown to work in teaching math and what happens in schools and at home. This book bridges that gap by turning research findings into practical activities and advice. Boaler translates Carol Dweck's concept of 'mindset' into math teaching and parenting strategies, showing how students can go from self-doubt to strong self-confidence, which is so important to math learning. Boaler reveals the steps that must be taken by schools and parents to improve math education for all. Mathematical Mindsets: Explains how the brain processes mathematics learning Reveals how to turn mistakes and struggles into valuable learning experiences Provides examples of rich mathematical activities to replace rote learning Explains ways to give students a positive math mindset Gives examples of how assessment and grading policies need to change to support real understanding Scores of students hate and fear math, so they end up leaving school without an understanding of basic mathematical concepts. Their evasion and departure hinders math-related pathways and STEM career opportunities. Research has shown very clear methods to change this phenomena, but the information has been confined to research journals--until now. Mathematical Mindsets provides a proven, practical roadmap to mathematics success for any student at any age.
STEM the Tide: Reforming Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education in America by
One study after another shows American students ranking behind their international counterparts in the STEM fields--science, technology, engineering, and math. Businesspeople and cultural critics such as Bill Gates warn that this alarming situation puts the United States at a serious disadvantage in the high-tech global marketplace of the twenty-first century, and President Obama places improvement in these areas at the center of his educational reform. What can be done to reverse this poor performance and to unleash America's wasted talent? David E. Drew has good news--and the tools America needs to keep competitive. Drawing on both academic literature and his own rich experience, Drew identifies proven strategies for reforming America's schools, colleges, and universities, and his comprehensive review of STEM education in the United States offers a positive blueprint for the future. These research-based strategies include creative and successful methods for building strong programs in science and mathematics education and show how the achievement gap between majority and minority students can be closed. A crucial measure, he argues, is recruiting, educating, supporting, and respecting America's teachers. Accessible, engaging, and hard hitting, STEM the Tide is a clarion call to policymakers, administrators, educators, and everyone else concerned about students' participation in the STEM fields and America's competitive global position.
Teaching the Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades 3-5 by
Helping teachers prepare elementary students to master thecommon core math standards With the common core math curriculum being adopted byforty-three states, it is imperative that students learn to masterthose key math standards. Teaching the Common Core MathStandards with Hands-On Activities, Grades 3-5 is the only bookcurrently available that provides activities directly correlated tothe new core curriculum for math. This text assists teachers withinstructing the material and allows students to practice theconcepts through use of the grade-appropriate activitiesincluded. Students learn in different ways, and Teaching the CommonCore Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades 3-5acknowledges that fact through the inclusion of suggestions forvariations and extensions of each concept to be used for studentswith different abilities and learning styles. The activities andlessons are as diverse as the students in your classroom. InsideTeaching with Common Core Math Standards With Hands-OnActivities Grades 3-5, you will find: Clear instructions to help you cover the skills and conceptsfor the new math core curriculum Engaging activities that enforce each core math standard foryour students Various suggestions for ways to instruct the concepts to reachthe diverse learning styles of your students Complete coverage of mathematical calculations, mathematicalreasoning, and problem-solving strategies appropriate for grades3-5 Teaching the Common Core Math Standards with Hands-OnActivities, Grades 3-5 prepares students to achieve success inthe important area of mathematics. As your students gain anunderstanding of the common core standards, they will buildconfidence in their ability to grasp and manipulate mathematicalconcepts as they move forward to the next level.
Teaching the Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades 6-8 by
Helpful advice for teaching Common Core Math Standards to middle-school students The new Common Core State Standards for Mathematics have been formulated to provide students with instruction that will help them acquire a thorough knowledge of math at their grade level, which will in turn enable them to move on to higher mathematics with competence and confidence. Hands-on Activities for Teaching the Common Core Math Standards is designed to help teachers instruct their students so that they will better understand and apply the skills outlined in the Standards. This important resource also gives teachers a wealth of tools and activities that can encourage students to think critically, use mathematical reasoning, and employ various problem-solving strategies. Filled with activities that will help students gain an understanding of math concepts and skills correlated to the Common Core State Math Standards Offers guidance for helping students apply their understanding of math concepts and skills, develop proficiency in calculations, and learn to think abstractly Describes ways to get students to collaborate with other students, utilize technology, communicate ideas about math both orally and in writing, and gain an appreciation of the significance of mathematics to real life This practical and easy-to-use resource will help teachers give students the foundation they need for success in higher mathematics.
Teaching the Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades 9-12 by
Bring Common Core Math into high school with smart, engaging activities Teaching Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades 9-12 provides high school teachers with the kind of help they need to begin teaching the standards right away. This invaluable guide pairs each standard with one or more classroom-ready activities and suggestions for variations and extensions. Covering a range of abilities and learning styles, these activities bring the Common Core Math Standards to life as students gain fluency in math communication and develop the skillset they need to tackle successively more complex math courses in the coming years. Make math anxiety a thing of the past as you show your students how they use math every day of their lives, and give them the cognitive tools to approach any math problem with competence and confidence. The Common Core Standards define the knowledge and skills students need to graduate high school fully prepared for college and careers. Meeting these standards positions American students more competitively in the global economy, and sets them on a track to achieve their dreams. This book shows you how to teach the math standards effectively, and facilitate a deeper understanding of math concepts and calculations. Help students apply their understanding of math concepts Teach essential abstract and critical thinking skills Demonstrate various problem-solving strategies Lay a foundation for success in higher mathematics The rapid adoption of the Common Core Standards across the nation has left teachers scrambling for aligned lessons and activities. If you want to bring new ideas into the classroom today, look no further. Teaching Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities is the high school math teacher's solution for smart, engaging Common Core math.
Teaching the Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades K-2 by
Start young children off with Common Core math using these innovative activities Teaching the Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades K-2 provides teachers with the help they need to begin teaching to the new standards right away. The book outlines the Common Core math standards from kindergarten to second grade, providing one classroom-ready activity for each standard, plus suggestions for variations and extensions for students of different learning styles and abilities. Along with teaching the required mathematical concepts and skills, many of the activities encourage collaboration, technology utilization, written and oral communication, and an appreciation of the significance of mathematics in modern life. As the Common Core is adopted across the nation, teachers are scrambling to find information on CCSS-aligned lesson planning and classroom activities. This comprehensive guide answers that need, providing both the background information and practical, applicable guidance that can bring the Common Core into the classroom today. The activities include: Abstract and critical thinking using mathematical reasoning Problem-solving strategies and calculation proficiency Math fluency, and an understanding of mathematical concepts and skills Applying mathematical understanding to real life problems Early confidence and success in math is critical to a student's future performance. Math anxiety and a shaky foundation can hinder a student's potential far into the future, giving elementary math teachers a huge role in shaping their students' academic lives. The Common Core has set the bar, and Teaching the Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades K-2 brings the standards to life.
A Brief History of Numbers by
The world around us is saturated with numbers. They are a fundamental pillar of our modern society, and accepted and used with hardly a second thought. But how did this state of affairs come to be?In this book, Leo Corry tells the story behind the idea of number from the early days of the Pythagoreans, up until the turn of the twentieth century. He presents an overview of how numbers were handled and conceived in classical Greek mathematics, in the mathematics of Islam, in Europeanmathematics of the middle ages and the Renaissance, during the scientific revolution, all the way through to the mathematics of the 18th to the early 20th century.Focusing on both foundational debates and practical use numbers, and showing how the story of numbers is intimately linked to that of the idea of equation, this book provides a valuable insight to numbers for undergraduate students, teachers, engineers, professional mathematicians, and anyone withan interest in the history of mathematics.
Computing for Ordinary Mortals by
Computing isn't only (or even mostly) about hardware and software; it's also about the ideas behind the technology. In Computing for Ordinary Mortals, computer scientist Robert St. Amant explains this "really interesting part" of computing, introducing basic computing concepts and strategiesin a way that readers without a technical background can understand and appreciate.Each of the chapters illustrates ideas from a different area of computing, and together they provide important insights into what drives the field as a whole. St. Amant starts off with an overview of basic concepts as well as a brief history of the earliest computers, and then he traces twodifferent threads through the fabric of computing. One thread is practical, illuminating the architecture of a computer and showing how this architecture makes computation efficient. St. Amant shows us how to write down instructions so that a computer can accomplish specific tasks (programming), howthe computer manages those tasks as it runs (in its operating system), and how computers can communicate with each other (over a network). The other thread is theoretical, describing how computers are, in the abstract, machines for solving problems. Some of these ideas are embedded in much of whatwe do as humans, and thus this discussion can also give us insight into our own daily activities, how we interact with other people, and in some cases even what's going on in our heads.St. Amant concludes with artificial intelligence, exploring the possibility that computers might eventually be capable of human-level intelligence, and human-computer interaction, showing how computers can enrich our lives - and how they fall short.
Five Golden Rules by
Praise for Five Golden Rules "Casti is one of the great science writers of the 1990s. . . . If you'd like to have fun while giving your brain a first-class workout, then check this book out."-Keay Davidson in the San Francisco Examiner. "Five Golden Rules is caviar for the inquiring reader. . . . There is joy here in watching the unfolding of these intricate and beautiful techniques. Casti's gift is to be able to let the nonmathematical reader share in his understanding of the beauty of a good theory." -Christian Science Monitor. "Merely knowing about the existence of some of these golden rules may spark new, interesting-maybe revolutionary-ideas in your mind." -Robert Matthews in New Scientist (United Kingdom). "This book has meat! It is solid fare, food for thought. Five Golden Rules makes math less forbidding and much more interesting." -Ben Bova in the Hartford Courant "With this groundbreaking work, John Casti shows himself to be a great mathematics writer. Five Golden Rules is a feast of rare new delights all made perfectly comprehensible." -Rudy Rucker, author of The Fourth Dimension. "With the lucid informality for which he has become known, John Casti has written an engaging and articulate examination of five great mathematical theorems and their myriad applications." -John Allen Paulos, author of A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper.
God Created the Integers by
Bestselling author and physicist Stephen Hawking explores the "masterpieces" of mathematics, 25 landmarks spanning 2,500 years and representing the work of 15 mathematicians, including Augustin Cauchy, Bernard Riemann, and Alan Turing. This extensive anthology allows readers to peer into the mind of genius by providing them with excerpts from the original mathematical proofs and results. It also helps them understand the progression of mathematical thought, and the very foundations of our present-day technologies. Each chapter begins with a biography of the featured mathematician, clearly explaining the significance of the result, followed by the full proof of the work, reproduced from the original publication.
Hacking the Future by
Identity Wars is a broad look at how anonymity influences politics, activism, religion, and art. Stryker presents a strong defense of anonymity and explores some of the tools and organizations relating to this issue, especially as it has evolved with the ubiquity of the Internet. Cogent and compelling, his examination of online identities, both false and real, is an essential read for the social-networking age.
Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times by
This comprehensive history traces the development of mathematical ideas and the careers of the men responsible for them. Volume 1 looks at the discipline's origins in Babylon and Egypt, the creation of geometry and trigonometry by the Greeks, and the role of mathematics in the medieval and early modern periods. Volume 2 focuses on calculus, the rise of analysis in the 19th century, and the number theories of Dedekind and Dirichlet. The concluding volume covers the revival of projective geometry, the emergence of abstract algebra, the beginnings of topology, and the influence of Godel on recent mathematical study.
A Mathematician's Apology by
G. H. Hardy was one of this century's finest mathematical thinkers, renowned among his contemporaries as a 'real mathematician ... the purest of the pure'. He was also, as C. P. Snow recounts in his Foreword, 'unorthodox, eccentric, radical, ready to talk about anything'. This 'apology', written in 1940 as his mathematical powers were declining, offers a brilliant and engaging account of mathematics as very much more than a science; when it was first published, Graham Greene hailed it alongside Henry James's notebooks as 'the best account of what it was like to be a creative artist'. C. P. Snow's Foreword gives sympathetic and witty insights into Hardy's life, with its rich store of anecdotes concerning his collaboration with the brilliant Indian mathematician Ramanujan, his aphorisms and idiosyncrasies, and his passion for cricket. This is a unique account of the fascination of mathematics and of one of its most compelling exponents in modern times.
Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World by
Bestselling author Bruce Schneier offers his expert guidance onachieving security on a network Internationally recognized computer security expert Bruce Schneieroffers a practical, straightforward guide to achieving securitythroughout computer networks. Schneier uses his extensive fieldexperience with his own clients to dispel the myths that oftenmislead IT managers as they try to build secure systems. Thispractical guide provides readers with a better understanding of whyprotecting information is harder in the digital world, what theyneed to know to protect digital information, how to assess businessand corporate security needs, and much more. * Walks the reader through the real choices they have now fordigital security and how to pick and choose the right one to meettheir business needs * Explains what cryptography can and can't do in achieving digitalsecurity
Teaching Elementary Mathematics by
This Field Experience Manual helps students design and reflect on classroom observations, interviews, and sample teaching activities. This workbook will enable students to work within the text, allowing instructors to assign work from the text itself. Smith, Teaching Elementary Mathematics: A Resource for Field Experiences can be used with any Elementary Math Methods text.
The Best Writing on Mathematics 2015 by
This annual anthology brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field, The Best Writing on Mathematics 2015 makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else--and you don't need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today's hottest mathematical debates. Here David Hand explains why we should actually expect unlikely coincidences to happen; Arthur Benjamin and Ethan Brown unveil techniques for improvising custom-made magic number squares; Dana Mackenzie describes how mathematicians are making essential contributions to the development of synthetic biology; Steven Strogatz tells us why it's worth writing about math for people who are alienated from it; Lisa Rougetet traces the earliest written descriptions of Nim, a popular game of mathematical strategy; Scott Aaronson looks at the unexpected implications of testing numbers for randomness; and much, much more. In addition to presenting the year's most memorable writings on mathematics, this must-have anthology includes a bibliography of other notable writings and an introduction by the editor, Mircea Pitici. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us--and where it is headed.
Coders by
Hello, world. Facebook's algorithms shaping the news. Self-driving cars roaming the streets. Revolution on Twitter and romance on Tinder. We live in a world constructed of code--and coders are the ones who built it for us. From acclaimed tech writer Clive Thompson comes a brilliant anthropological reckoning with the most powerful tribe in the world today, computer programmers, in a book that interrogates who they are, how they think, what qualifies as greatness in their world, and what should give us pause. They are the most quietly influential people on the planet, and Coders shines a light on their culture. In pop culture and media, the people who create the code that rules our world are regularly portrayed in hackneyed, simplified terms, as ciphers in hoodies. Thompson goes far deeper, dramatizing the psychology of the invisible architects of the culture, exploring their passions and their values, as well as their messy history. In nuanced portraits, Coders takes us close to some of the great programmers of our time, including the creators of Facebook's News Feed, Instagram, Google's cutting-edge AI, and more. Speaking to everyone from revered "10X" elites to neophytes, back-end engineers and front-end designers, Thompson explores the distinctive psychology of this vocation--which combines a love of logic, an obsession with efficiency, the joy of puzzle-solving, and a superhuman tolerance for mind-bending frustration. Along the way, Coders thoughtfully ponders the morality and politics of code, including its implications for civic life and the economy. Programmers shape our everyday behavior: When they make something easy to do, we do more of it. When they make it hard or impossible, we do less of it. Thompson wrestles with the major controversies of our era, from the "disruption" fetish of Silicon Valley to the struggle for inclusion by marginalized groups. In his accessible, erudite style, Thompson unpacks the surprising history of the field, beginning with the first coders -- brilliant and pioneering women, who, despite crafting some of the earliest personal computers and programming languages, were later written out of history. Coders introduces modern crypto-hackers fighting for your privacy, AI engineers building eerie new forms of machine cognition, teenage girls losing sleep at 24/7 hackathons, and unemployed Kentucky coal-miners learning a new career. At the same time, the book deftly illustrates how programming has become a marvelous new art form--a source of delight and creativity, not merely danger. To get as close to his subject as possible, Thompson picks up the thread of his own long-abandoned coding skills as he reckons, in his signature, highly personal style, with what superb programming looks like. To understand the world today, we need to understand code and its consequences. With Coders, Thompson gives a definitive look into the heart of the machine.
CRC STANDARD MATHEMATICAL TABLES AND FORMULAS by
Containing more than 6,000 entries, CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulas, 33rd Edition continues to provide essential formulas, tables, figures and detailed descriptions. The newest edition of this popular series also features many diagrams, group tables, and integrals that are not available online. This edition also incorporates important topics such as max plus algebra, financial options, pseudospectra, and proof methods. Newly updated topics reflecting new results include couple analogues, radar, and significant equations of mathematics. New features of the 33rd edition include: Larger trim size, five new topics, and topics which have been modified to update results Provides practical, ready-to-use information and covers important topics that are unfamiliar to many readers, such as visual proofs and sequences Includes hard-to-find and more complete information than found in the Internet such as table of conformal mappings and integral tables Adds descriptions of new functions: Lambert, prolate spheroidal, and Weierstrass Even though the book has been updated it retains the same successful format of previous editions in that material is still presented in a multi-sectional format.
Engaging Primary Children in Mathematics by
Effective teaching is a combination of technical skills and knowledge but good teachers also need to understand how children learn and how they can most effectively be taught. Engaging Primary Children in Mathematics explores the various strategies for engaging children in mathematical learning in the light of theory and practice and is designed to talk straight to the teacher/student about their classroom approach to the teaching of primary mathematics. The importance of creating a learning environment in which children can learn to be young mathematicians, where they can explore, create and solve problems, cannot be underestimated. Margaret Sangster explores how students and practitioners can develop their practice by reviewing a range of approaches to the teaching of mathematics and the development of those young mathematicians, with examples of thought-provoking activities to inform their own practice.
Hidden Figures by
The #1 New York Times bestseller -WINNER OF ANISFIELD-WOLF AWARD FOR NONFICTION -WINNER BLACK CAUCUS OF AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NAACP IMAGE AWARD BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE COMMUNICATION AWARD The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA at the leading edge of the feminist and civil rights movement, whose calculations helped fuel some of America's greatest achievements in space--a powerful, revelatory contribution that is as essential to our understanding of race, discrimination, and achievement in modern America as Between the World and Me and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The basis for the smash Academy Award-nominated film starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner. Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black "West Computing" group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens. Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future.
Life 3. 0 by
New York Times Best Seller How will Artificial Intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology--and there's nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who's helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial. How can we grow our prosperity through automation without leaving people lacking income or purpose? What career advice should we give today's kids? How can we make future AI systems more robust, so that they do what we want without crashing, malfunctioning or getting hacked? Should we fear an arms race in lethal autonomous weapons? Will machines eventually outsmart us at all tasks, replacing humans on the job market and perhaps altogether? Will AI help life flourish like never before or give us more power than we can handle? What sort of future do you want? This book empowers you to join what may be the most important conversation of our time. It doesn't shy away from the full range of viewpoints or from the most controversial issues--from superintelligence to meaning, consciousness and the ultimate physical limits on life in the cosmos.
The Magic of Math by
The world's greatest mental mathematical magician takes us on a spellbinding journey through the wonders of numbers (and more) "Arthur Benjamin ... joyfully shows you how to make nature's numbers dance."--Bill Nye (the science guy) The Magic of Math is the math book you wish you had in school. Using a delightful assortment of examples-from ice-cream scoops and poker hands to measuring mountains and making magic squares-this book revels in key mathematical fields including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and calculus, plus Fibonacci numbers, infinity, and, of course, mathematical magic tricks. Known throughout the world as the "mathemagician," Arthur Benjamin mixes mathematics and magic to make the subject fun, attractive, and easy to understand for math fan and math-phobic alike. "A positively joyful exploration of mathematics." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Each [trick] is more dazzling than the last." -Physics World
The Right Kind of Crazy by
Few organizations solve as many impossible problems as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and nobody knows more about leading rocket scientists to unlikely breakthroughs than Adam Steltzner. As the phase lead and development manager for EDL (entry, descent and landing) of the Curiosity rover to Mars, Steltzner spearheaded the creation of one of engineering's wackiest kluges- the sky crane- that allowed the heaviest rover in the history of space exploration to land on Mars unscathed. Steltzner is no ordinary engineer. His path to leadership was about as unlikely as they come. A child of beatnik parents, he was a daredevil and avid mountain biker, breaking thirty-two bones before squeaking through high school. He blew off college in favor of work at a health food store and playing bass in a band. After an interest in the movement of the stars led him to enroll part time at community college, Steltzner discovered an astonishing gift for math and physics. Within years he got his PhD and ensconced himself within the offbeat Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's decidedly unbureaucratic cousin, where success in a mission is the only metric that matters. The Right Kind of Crazy is the story of the teamwork, drama, and extraordinary feats of innovation at the Jet Propulsion Lab, that culminated in landing the rover Curiosity on Mars in 2012. It also weaves Steltzner's professional life-centering on the ten years he and his team spent planning and then executing the landing of the rover-with his unlikely journey from academic underachiever to rocket scientist. Along the way, readers will learn about what makes effective teams, how to stay on task for the long haul, and strategies for solving incredibly complex problems. The Right Kind of Crazyis a book for anyone striving for excellence. 'Steltzner's enthusiastic, passionately written memoir is an insider's guide to engineering wizardry and a testament to the effectiveness of team-minded engagement, rational problem-solving, and the concept of 'making ideas reality.' A motivational journey for armchair astronauts and readers fascinated by the unlimited wingspan of human potential.'Kirkus Reviews
Teaching Math, Science, and Technology in Schools Today by
Teaching Math, Science, and Technology in Schools Today: Guidelines for Engaging Both Eager and Reluctant Learners offers unique, engaging, and thought-provoking ideas. The activities open imaginative doors to learning and provide opportunities for all learners. It surveys today's most important trends and dilemmas while explaining how collaboration and critical thinking can be translated into fresh classroom practices. Questions, engagement, and curiosity are viewed as natural partners for mathematical problem solving, scientific inquiry, and learning about technology. Like the Common Core State Standards, the book builds on the social nature of learning to provide suggestions for both eager and reluctant learners. The overall goal of the book is to deepen the collective conversation, challenge thinking, and provide some up-to-date tools for teachers so they can help reverse the steady erosion of math, science, and technology understanding in the general population.
