Ellen Kaplan Knihy

A squared plus b squared equals c squared. It sounds simple, doesn't it? Yet this familiar expression is a gateway into the riotous garden of mathematics, and sends us on a journey of exploration in the company of two inspired guides, who trace the life of the Pythagorean theorem from ancient Babylon to the present, visiting along the way Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, President James Garfield, and the Freemasons--not to mention the elusive Pythagoras himself. Why does this theorem have more than two hundred proofs--or is it four thousand? And it has even more applications than proofs: Ancient Egyptians used it for surveying, and today astronomers call on it to measure the distance between stars. It works not just in two dimensions, but any number you like, up to infinity. And perhaps most intriguing of all, it opened the door to the world of irrational numbers.--From publisher description

Exploring humanity's relationship with chance, this book delves into the historical development of probability and its philosophical implications. It highlights the efforts of notable figures who formulated probability concepts and their diverse applications, ranging from gambling to military strategy and healthcare. By examining the quest for certainty amidst randomness, the narrative illustrates how these mathematical tools have shaped our understanding of risk and decision-making throughout history.

Von Würfeln, Spielkarten und geworfenen Münzen bis hin zu Börsenkursen, Wettervorhersagen und militärischen Manövern: Überall im Alltag spielt die Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung eine wichtige Rolle. Während die einen auf ihr Bauchgefühl vertrauen, versuchen andere, dem Zufall systematisch beizukommen. Die Autoren enthüllen die Rätsel und Grundlagen dieser spannenden Wissenschaft, gespickt mit vielen Anekdoten und den schillernden Geschichten derjenigen, die sie vorangebracht haben: Carl Friedrich Gauß, Florence Nightingale, Blaise Pascal und viele andere. Nie war Mathematik so kurzweilig – darauf können Sie wetten!