The Ten Equations That Rule the World: And How You Can Use Them Too

by David Sumpter Narrated by Sean Runnette

Overview

Is there a secret formula for getting rich? For going viral? For deciding how long to stick with your current job, Netflix series, or even relationship?

This book is all about the equations that make our world go round. Ten of them, in fact. They are integral to everything from investment banking to betting companies and social media giants. And they can help you to increase your chance of success, guard against financial loss, live more healthfully, and see through scaremongering. They are known by only the privileged few - until now.

With wit and clarity, mathematician David Sumpter shows that it isn't the technical details that make these formulas so successful. It is the way they allow mathematicians to view problems from a different angle - a way of seeing the world that anyone can learn.

Empowering and illuminating, The Ten Equations shows how math really can change your life.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

07/12/2021

Mathematics professor Sumpter (Outnumbered) surveys 10 equations that “can provide the answers to questions ranging from the trivial to the profound, and about you as an individual and society as a whole” in this brain-boosting outing. Each equation gets its own chapter: “The Confidence Equation” uses “the basis for the field of statistics” to help readers decide if “you are doing the right thing... you are in the right job.... If your partner really is the love of your life,” while “The Learning Equation” draws from algorithms to show readers how to spot if their “actions increase or decrease the difference between your goals and reality.” Sumpter pulls examples from a variety of fields—sports betting, animal food foraging, film-making—and shows how his equations build on one another and can lead to surprisingly philosophical revelations. The reward equation, for example, “tells you to concentrate on the present and not dwell on the past.” While those who don’t know a phi from an alpha or are intimidated by exponents should steer clear, math-minded readers will marvel at the multitudinous ways these equations impact and can help unpack day-to-day life. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

Hugely entertaining, erudite . . . It's nice to be spoken to in grown-up language by a genius. You will come away from Sumpter's book with a much clearer idea of why the world is less messy than it appears.” - E&T Magazine

“Sumpter writes fascinatingly about his experiences as a consulting mathematician. . . Show[s] the relevance of mathematics to today's world.” - Times Higher Education

“Sometimes books about numbers come along and we’re so ecstatic that we just pop with delight. One such book is The Ten Equations that Rule the World.” - Tim Harford, More or Less BBC4

“These aren't the equations of Newton or Einstein crisp relations describing the evolution of a clockwork universe. These are the equations of randomness, expectation, and imperfect information. The equations, in other words, of the real world. David Sumpter provides an entertaining tour that will change how you see the world.” - Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172848506
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/24/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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