Kit Yates

A brilliant and entertaining mathematician illuminates seven mathematical principles that shape our lives. “Kit Yates shows how our private and social lives are suffused by mathematics. Ignorance may bring tragedy or farce. This is an exquisitely interesting book. It’s a deeply serious one too and, for those like me who have little math, it’s delightfully readable.” —Ian McEwan, author of Atonement “Kit Yates is a natural storyteller. Through fascinating stories and examples, he shows how maths is the beating heart of so much of modern life. An exciting new voice in the world of science communication.” —Marcus du Sautoy, author of The Music of the Primes From birthdays to birth rates to how we perceive the passing of time, mathematical patterns shape our lives. But for those of us who left math behind in high school, the numbers and figures hurled at us as we go about our days can sometimes leave us scratching our heads and feeling as if we’re fumbling through a mathematical minefield. In this eye-opening and extraordinarily accessible book, mathemati­cian Kit Yates illuminates hidden principles that can help us understand and navigate the chaotic and often opaque surfaces of our world. In The Math of Life and Death, Yates takes us on a fascinating tour of everyday situations and grand-scale applications of mathematical concepts, including exponential growth and decay, optimization, statistics and probability, and number systems. Along the way he reveals the mathematical undersides of controversies over DNA testing, medical screening results, and historical events such as the Chernobyl disaster and the Amanda Knox trial. Readers will finish this book with an enlightened perspective on the news, the law, medicine, and history, and will be better equipped to make personal decisions and solve problems with math in mind, whether it’s choosing the shortest checkout line at the grocery store or halting the spread of a deadly disease.

7 Mathematical Principles That Shape Our Lives

The Math of Life and Death

The Science of Making Predictions--And the Art of Knowing When Not To

How to Expect the Unexpected

Spannend und einfach erklärt: Mathe in unserem Alltag Wie Mathematik unseren Leben bestimmt – und wie man sich das Zahlenwissen zunutze machen kann. Stehen Sie auch immer in der langsamsten Warteschlange im Supermarkt? Und suchen Sie regelmäßig nach dem perfekten Platz im Zug? Dieses Buch wird Ihnen dabei helfen, Ihren Alltag besser zu verstehen – mit Mathematik! "Warum Mathematik (fast) alles ist", erklärt der promovierte Mathematiker Kit Yates in diesem Buch und zeigt, welche mathematischen Prinzipien hinter vielen Alltagsphänomenen stecken. Er präsentiert mathematische Rätsel aus Geschichte und Medien und beschreibt ebenso unterhaltsam wie eindrücklich, wie das Spiel mit den Zahlen hinter fast allen kleinen und großen Ereignissen steckt – vom Supermarktbesuch bis zur Atombombe. Wer erkennt, welche Rolle Mathematik in unserem täglichen Leben spielt, wird bessere Entscheidungen treffen. In seinem neuen Buch beweist Kit Yates: Mathematisches Denken ist nicht nur nützlich und macht Spaß – manchmal rettet es auch Leben. Spannend bis zum Schluss: Populärwissenschaft als packender Krimi! Vom Medizinskandal bis zur Statistikverzerrung vor Gericht: Kit Yates deckt auf, wie die Mathematik nahezu alle Bereiche unseres Lebens durchdringt und beherrscht – ganz ohne komplizierte Formeln. Nie war Mathe so spannend! Corona als Rechenaufgabe: die Pandemie verstehen mit Mathematik Kit Yates widmet auch der Epidemiologie einen Teil seines Buches und erklärt: Zahlen können helfen, die Corona-Pandemie zu verstehen – aber auch zu verschleiern. So ist "Warum Mathematik (fast) alles ist" auch ein eindringliches Plädoyer dafür, Zahlen nicht blind zu vertrauen, sondern zu lernen, sie selbst zu interpretieren. »Kit Yates zeigt, wie unser privates und gesellschaftliches Leben von Mathematik durchdrungen ist. Unwissenheit kann in Tragödien enden. Darum ist dies ein überaus interessantes Buch. Und für diejenigen, die wie ich wenig mit Mathe zu tun haben, ist es wunderbar verständlich.« Ian McEwan

... und wie sie unser Leben bestimmt

Warum Mathematik (fast) alles ist

'Yates' writing is a beacon of clarity sorely needed in a complicated and confusing world... I'll be quoting from this book' Jim Al-Khalili Are you more likely to become a professional footballer if your surname is Ball? · How can you be one hundred per cent sure you will win a bet? · Why did so many Pompeiians stay put while Mount Vesuvius was erupting? · How do you prevent a nuclear war? Ever since the dawn of human civilisation, we have been trying to make predictions about what's in store for us. We do this on a personal level, so that we can get on with our lives efficiently (should I hang my laundry out to dry, or will it rain?). But we also have to predict on a much larger scale, often for the good of our broader society (how can we spot economic downturns or prevent terrorist attacks?). For just as long, we have been getting it wrong. From religious oracles to weather forecasters, and from politicians to economists, we are subjected to poor predictions all the time. Our job is to separate the good from the bad. Unfortunately, the foibles of our own biology - the biases that ultimately make us human - can let us down when it comes to making rational inferences about the world around us. And that can have disastrous consequences. How to Expect the Unexpected will teach you how and why predictions go wrong, help you to spot phony forecasts and give you a better chance of getting your own predictions correct.

The Science of Making Predictions and the Art of Knowing When Not To

A “vivid, wide-ranging, and delightful guide” (bestselling author Tim Harford) for understanding how and why predictions go wrong, with practical tips to give you a better chance of getting them right How can you be 100 percent sure you will win a bet? Why did so many Pompeians stay put while Mount Vesuvius was erupting? Are you more likely to work in a kitchen if your last name is Baker? Ever since the dawn of human civilization, we have been trying to make predictions about what the world has in store for us. For just as long, we have been getting it wrong. In How to Expect the Unexpected, mathematician Kit Yates uncovers the surprising science that undergirds our predictions—and how we can use it to our advantage. From religious oracles to weather forecasters, and from politicians to economists, we are subjected to poor predictions all the time. Synthesizing results from math, biology, psychology, sociology, medicine, economic theory, and physics, Yates provides tools for readers to understand uncertainty and to recognize the cognitive biases that make accurate predictions so hard to come by. This book will teach you how and why predictions go wrong, help you to spot phony forecasts, and give you a better chance of getting your own predictions correct.

The Science of Making Predictions—and the Art of Knowing When Not To

Matematika je základem všeho, co děláme. Od způsobu, jakým komunikujeme, jak cestujeme a pracujeme až po způsob, jak odpočíváme. Autor poutavě osvětluje, jaké matematické principy formují naše každodenní životy, a zkoumá jejich mnohdy zásadní roli na příkladech skutečných událostí. Sledujeme nevinné oběti justičních omylů či softwarových chyb, pacienty zmrzačené vadnými geny nebo podnikatele zruinované nesprávnými algoritmy – to vše kvůli nepochopení matematiky. Kit Yates nám v této knize velmi srozumitelným způsobem ukáže, jak můžeme matematiky využít v náš prospěch. Jak nám matematika může změnit život k lepšímu, jak se vyvarovat omylů, jak zachraňovat životy nebo jak číst zprávy a odhalovat lži. Matematika je všude kolem nás, stačí se jen naučit jinak přemýšlet.

Kit Yates

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