Can you multiply and divide by 2 or 10 without pencil and paper? Of course you can. And believe it or not, with just those two skills and a few simple tricks you can perform just about any everyday calculation in your head! That’s just a small sample of the kind of number wizardry readers will learn to master in this amazingly entertaining and supremely practical book. The author—a former math teacher who wows audiences as “The Mathemagician”—takes the anxiety out of numbers for everyone from schoolkids suffering from math phobia to grownups bargaining for the best car deal. And he also provides the kind of intriguing mental exercises that keeps aging brains flexible and fit.

Through lively exposition and lucid explanations, real mathematics is made not only palatable, but even enjoyable to the uninitiated.

Includes index.

"The Poincare Conjecture was a holy grail to mathematicians around the world. Decade after decade, the unproven theorem that would help us understand higher dimensional space and, possibly, the shape of the universe defied every effort to solve it. Now, after more than a century, an eccentric Russian recluse has found the solution to one of the seven greatest math problems of our time, earning the right to claim the first one-million-dollar Millennium math prize." "George Szpiro begins his masterfully told story in 1904 when Frenchman Henri Poincare formulated a conjecture about a seemingly simple problem. Imagine an ant crawling around on a large surface. How would it know whether the surface is a flat plane, a round sphere, or a bagel-shaped object? The ant would need to lift off from the surface to observe the object from afar, so how could one prove the shape was spherical without actually seeing it? Raise the surface to the next higher dimension, and you have the problem that Poincare sought to solve." "In fact, Poincare thought he had solved it but soon realized his proof was flawed. Across generations and around the globe, from China to Texas, great minds stalked the solution in the wilds of higher dimensions."--BOOK JACKET.

Here is a complete self-teaching guide for anyone needing knowledge of math as it applies to engineering and technical fields.

"In Infinite Ascent, David Berlinski focuses on the ten most important breakthroughs in mathematical history - and the men behind them. Here are Pythagoras, intoxicated by the mystical significance of numbers; Euclid, who gave the world the very idea of a proof; Leibniz and Newton, co-discoverers of the calculus; Cantor, master of the infinite; and Godel, who in one magnificent proof placed everything in doubt."--BOOK JACKET.

Math for the Anxious: Building Basic Skills is written to provide a practical approach to the problem of math anxiety. By combining strategies for success with a pain-free introduction to basic math content, students will overcome their anxiety and find greater success in their math courses. The first two chapters not only explain the sources of math anxiety, they more importantly outline pragmatic steps students can take to reduce it. In each of the following eight chapters, strategies are implemented for learning a particular topic such as fractions that may have frustrated students in the past but can now be digested and mastered through hints, patient explanations, and revelations of how students already encounter the topic on an everyday basis. The final chapter brings all the strategies together and prepares students to encounter future math topics with newfound confidence and finely tuned techniques at their disposal..

You've taken an important client out for a business dinner and when the check comes, you have to quickly calculate the appropriate tip. Your favorite local store is having its fabulous once-a-year sale and you need to calculate the discount savings you'll get. These real life scenarios strike fear in the hearts of those who struggle with math. Other puzzling problems include adjusting recipes; calculating calorie counts and fat grams; measuring for new carpets and wallpaper; and figuring percentage discounts, mortgage interest, taxes, sports statistics, miles per gallon, and of course, tipping. Beth Norcross explains how to solve these math conundrums in a clear step-by-step format. By using common sense shortcuts, most problems can be solved in as little as five minutes. So relax, take your boss, your friends, and your clients out to dinner. Head to the sale at your favorite store for a new wardrobe. The quick solutions in this book will make you forget you were ever afraid of math. Book jacket.

This book entices readers to discover the joy and appeal of mathematics through more than one hundred short mathematical examples, ranging from baby rabbits and the Fibonacci sequence, to President James A. Garfield's proof of the Pythagorean theorem. Posamentier (mathematics education, The City College of the City U. of New York) writes in a conversational tone and gears his examples for beginners. Chapters include arithmetic marvels, surprising solutions, algebraic entertainments, geometric wonders, and fun mathematical paradoxes. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"What does this have to do with real life?" is a question that plagues mathematics teachers across America, as students are confronted with abstract topics in their high school mathematics courses. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics emphasizes the importance of making real world connections in teaching mathematics so that learning new content is meaningful to students. And in meeting NCTM national standards, this invaluable book provides many insights into the many connections between mathematics applications and the real world. Nearly 50 math concepts are presented with multiple examples of how each is applied in everyday environments, such as the workplace, nature, science, sports, and even parking. From logarithms to matrices to complex numbers, concepts are discussed for a variety of mathematics courses, including: BL algebra BL geometry BL trigonometry BL analysis BL probability BL statistics BL calculus