| Description |
xv, 318 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm |
|
text txt rdacontent |
|
unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-307) and index. |
| Contents |
Prologue: I could be mathier -- To infinity and beyond -- Drive me crazy -- Casino Royale -- The Devil's playground -- Show me the money -- A pox upon it -- Body Heat -- The Catenary Tales -- Surfin' Safari -- Epilogue: The mimetics of math -- Appendix 1: Doing the math -- Appendix 2: Calculus of the Living Dead. |
| Summary |
"Were you traumatized by high school calculus? Does the mere mention of integrals and derivatives make you queasy? Jennifer Ouellette feels your pain. She never took math in college, mostly because she -- like most people -- assumed that she wouldn't need it in real life. But then the English-major-turned-award-winning-science-writer had a change of heart and decided to revisit the equations and formulas that had haunted her for years. And she's here to tell you that the mysteries of calculus aren't nearly so scary when they're faced head on. The Calculus Diaries is the fun and fascinating account of her year spent confronting her math phobia. With wit and verve, Ouellette shows how she learned to apply calculus to everything from gas mileage, diet, and the rides at Disneyland, to surfing in Hawaii, shooting craps in Vegas, and warding off zombies famished for tasty fresh brains. Along the way, she proves that even the mathematically challenged can learn the fundamentals of the universal language"--Publisher description. |
| Subject |
Calculus -- Miscellanea.
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Mathematics -- Miscellanea.
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| ISBN |
9780143117377 (pbk.) |
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0143117378 (pbk.) |
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