Description

Book Synopsis
See the world in a completely new way as an esteemed mathematician shows how math powers the world—from technology to health care and beyond.
 
Almost all of us have sat in a math class, wondering when we'd ever need to know how to find the roots of a polynomial or graph imaginary numbers. And in one sense, we were right: if we needed to, we'd use a computer. But as Ian Stewart argues in What's the Use?, math isn't just about boring computations. Rather, it offers us new and profound insights into our world, allowing us to accomplish feats as significant as space exploration and organ donation. From the trigonometry that keeps a satellite in orbit to the prime numbers used by the world's most advanced security systems to the imaginary numbers that enable augmented reality, math isn't just relevant to our lives. It is the very fabric of our existence.

What's the Use?: How Mathematics Shapes Everyday

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    A Hardback by Ian Stewart

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      Book details

      Publisher Basic Books
      Published 17 August 2021
      ISBN-13 9781541699489
      978-1541699489
      ISBN-10 1541699483
      Also in:
      Applied mathematics Astronomy, space and time

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      See the world in a completely new way as an esteemed mathematician shows how math powers the world—from technology to health care and beyond.
       
      Almost all of us have sat in a math class, wondering when we'd ever need to know how to find the roots of a polynomial or graph imaginary numbers. And in one sense, we were right: if we needed to, we'd use a computer. But as Ian Stewart argues in What's the Use?, math isn't just about boring computations. Rather, it offers us new and profound insights into our world, allowing us to accomplish feats as significant as space exploration and organ donation. From the trigonometry that keeps a satellite in orbit to the prime numbers used by the world's most advanced security systems to the imaginary numbers that enable augmented reality, math isn't just relevant to our lives. It is the very fabric of our existence.

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