The irresistibly engaging book that "enlarges one's wonder at Tammet's mind and his all-embracing vision of the world as grounded in numbers" (Oliver Sacks, MD). Thinking in Numbers is the book that Daniel Tammet, mathematical savant and bestselling author, was born to write. In Tammet's world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes, everyday examples, and ruminations on history, literature, and more, Tammet allows us to share his unique insights and delight in the way numbers, fractions, and equations underpin all our lives. Inspired variously by the complexity of snowflakes, Anne Boleyn's eleven fingers, and his many siblings, Tammet explores questions such as why time seems to speed up as we age, whether there is such a thing as an average person, and how we can make sense of those we love. His provocative and inspiring new book will change the way you think about math and fire your imagination to view the world with fresh eyes.

How many colors are needed to color a map? Must hailstones numbers always fall to the ground? Can statistics prove anything? What is a perfect square, and who has found the ultimate one? How do numbers affect national security? What kinds of problems confront the traveling salesman? Does anyone know how best to pack balls together? What is life like in 4 (or 3 1/2) dimensions? How does a clock count, and why should we care? What number secrets do sunflowers and pine cones conceal? What is a monster doing in mathematics? These and many other fascinating questions about familiar numbers like 1, 2, and 3 are explored in Malcolm Line's second adventure into the world of numbers. Written in a lively and readable style, Think of a Number relates the story of some of the most famous problems that have confronted the world's experts over the centuries, from the earliest interests of the ancient Greeks to the very cutting-edge of modern research involving today's most powerful computers. The book explores the relationship between numbers and nature in its broadest sense and discovers the beauty of fractals and chaos. Requiring little or no prior knowledge of mathematics, this resource will be fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in numbers and their role in the natural world.

The first book in the Dave Gurney series, Think of a Number is a heart-pounding game of cat and mouse that grows relentlessly darker and more frightening as its pace accelerates Threatening letters arrive in the mail over a period of weeks, ending with a simple declaration: “Think of any number . . . picture it . . . now see how well I know your secrets.” Those who comply find that the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. But when oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle quickly ignite into a massive serial murder investigation, police are confronted with a baffling killer, one who is fond of rhymes filled with threats and warnings, whose attention to detail is unprecedented, and who has an uncanny knack for disappearing into thin air. Brought in as an investigative consultant, Dave Gurney, a recently retired NYPD homicide investigator, soon accomplishes deductive breakthroughs that leave local police in awe. Yet, even as he matches wits with his seemingly clairvoyant opponent, Gurney’s tragedy-marred past rises up to haunt him, his marriage approaches a dangerous precipice, and he wonders if he’s met an adversary who can’t be stopped. A work that defies easy labels—at once a propulsive masterpiece of suspense and an absorbing immersion in the lives of characters so real we seem to hear their heartbeats—Think of a Number is a novel you’ll not soon forget.

The word Eugenics first appears in this book. Also, in this book, Galton shows mathematically "the results of his experiments on the relations between the powers of visual imagery and of abstract thought."

Does music make kids smarter? At what age should a child begin music lessons? Where should you purchase an instrument? What should parents expect from a child's teachers and lessons? How can you get kids to practice? Raising Musical Kids answers these and many other questions as it guides parents through everything from assembling a listening library for kids, to matching a child's personality with an instrument's personality, to finding musical resources in your community. Knowing that children can—and often do—get most of their music education from their school, parent and educator Robert Cutietta explores the features and benefits of elementary and secondary school programs, and shows how parents can work with the schools to provide the best possible music program. Throughout the book, Cutietta emphasizes the joy of participating in music for its own sake. The first edition of Raising Musical Kids delighted and informed parents to equal degrees, and this fully-revised second edition is a book that parents everywhere will treasure as a complete road map for developing their child's musical abilities.

Presents riddles, games, puzzles, and word and mathematical quizzes in a graphically gross book where farts, boogers, and burps are the items used in the answers.