Proofiness: How You're Being Fooled by the Numbers Contributor(s): Seife, Charles (Author) |
|||||||
ISBN: 0143120077 ISBN-13: 9780143120070 Publisher: Penguin Books
WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD! Click here for our low price guarantee Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions Published: September 2011 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Mathematics | History & Philosophy - Science | Philosophy & Social Aspects - Mathematics | Logic |
Dewey: 510 |
Age Level: 18-UP |
Grade Level: 13-UP |
Physical Information: 0.7" H x 5.3" W x 7.9" L (0.50 lbs) 320 pages |
Features: Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Maps, Price on Product, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: From the author of Zero, comes this "admirable salvo against quantitative bamboozlement by the media and the government" (The Boston Globe) In Zero, Charles Seife presented readers with a thrilling account of the strangest number known to humankind. Now he shows readers how the power of skewed metrics-or "proofiness"- is being used to alter perception in both amusing and dangerous ways. Proofiness is behind such bizarre stories as a mathematical formula for the perfect butt and sprinters who can run faster than the speed of sound. But proofiness also has a dark side: bogus mathematical formulas used to undermine our democracy-subverting our justice system, fixing elections, and swaying public opinion with lies. By doing the real math, Seife elegantly and good-humoredly scrutinizes our growing obsession with metrics while exposing those who misuse them. |
Customer ReviewsSubmit your own review |
To tell a friend about this book, you must Sign In First! |