I checked out a lot of books from library - this one NYPL has 19 copies but 85 holds, and I just happened to stumble upon one copy. After going through the 437 pages, I have to say this is the best book Ive read in a loooong time. Its like, if you have 5 girlfriends that you cannot choose which one to marry, then you probably like them all but dont LOVE them. But when you find THE ONE, you just want to spend all the time with her and ignore the rest. This is what Ive been doing the last two weeks: just reading this book and nothing else (part of it is necessity b/c I know I wont be able to renew it, but even without that constraint it is still the book I love most). Why is it good? First of all, I am a bit biased. I am a Quant and I like numbers, so this is a book on using math to help you think. The author is humorous and reading between the lines you can see his love on math. There are other books like this (e.g. The Joy of X or The Grapes of Math), but this one is best in that the stories are engaging and the writing superb. I am also in a sweet spot (know enough about math to appreciate the book, but not too much that Ill think his examples are redundant), so its a perfect match. Second, the examples the author uses are brilliant. Its like solving a puzzle or a brain-teaser, and once the solution is revealed, you are like, Wow, why didnt I think of that? Third, the explanation is clear and succinct. All those terms (p-value, statistical significance, null hypothesis, regression to the mean, correlation) are bored if you just read their definition from a textbook, but after reading them here they all make lots of sense now. Its a great review of mathematics and how to applied them correctly. Fourth, it is inspirational. Towards the end of the book the author touches on other interesting things, things like illusion of math geniuses. The genius is not in the person, but an act. The moment of gaining the insight feels effortless and genius, but it is really the repeated attempt of pushing at things that look like a crack - the ability to stay at the problem despite seemingly lack of progress - that makes the genius. Hard-work seems like a veiled insult for anyone who is not smart, but thats just not true. Same in math, same in basketball, same in every worthy pursuit in life. Hard work beats talent every time that talent doesnt work hard.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 21:42:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015