Reviews
Manil Suri, The Washington Post : "Brilliantly engaging.... Ellenberg''s talent for finding real-life situations that enshrine mathematical principles would be the envy of any math teacher. He presents these in fluid succession, like courses in a fine restaurant, taking care to make each insight shine through, unencumbered by jargon or notation. Part of the sheer intellectual joy of the book is watching the author leap nimbly from topic to topic, comparing slime molds to the Bush-Gore Florida vote, criminology to Beethoven''s Ninth Symphony. The final effect is of one enormous mosaic unified by mathematics." Mario Livio, The Wall Street Journal : "Easy-to-follow, humorously presented.... This book will help you to avoid the pitfalls that result from not having the right tools. It will help you realize that mathematical reasoning permeates our lives--that it can be, as Mr. Ellenberg writes, a kind of ''X-ray specs that reveal hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of the world.''" Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American : "Witty, compelling, and just plain fun to read.... How Not to Be Wrong can help you explore your mathematical superpowers." Laura Miller, Salon: "A poet-mathematician offers an empowering and entertaining primer for the age of Big Data.... A rewarding popular math book for just about anyone." Nature : "Mathematicians from Charles Lutwidge Dodgson to Steven Strogatz have celebrated the power of mathematics in life and the imagination. In this hugely enjoyable exploration of everyday maths as ''an atomic-powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense'', Jordan Ellenberg joins their ranks. Ellenberg, an academic and Slate''s ''Do the Math'' columnist, explains key principles with erudite gusto--whether poking holes in predictions of a US ''obesity apocalypse'', or unpicking an attempt by psychologist B. F. Skinner to prove statistically that Shakespeare was a dud at alliteration." Times Higher Education : "A fresh application of complex mathematical thinking to commonplace events.... How Not to Be Wrong is beautifully written, holding the reader''s attention throughout with well-chosen material, illuminating exposition, wit and helpful examples. I am reminded of the great writer of recreational mathematics, Martin Gardner: Ellenberg shares Gardner''s remarkable ability to write clearly and entertainingly, bringing in deep mathematical ideas without the reader registering their difficulty." Kirkus Reviews : "The author avoids heavy jargon and relies on real-world anecdotes and basic equations and illustrations to communicate how even simple math is a powerful tool....[Ellenberg]writes that, at its core, math is a special thing and produces a feeling of understanding unattainable elsewhere: ''You feel you''ve reached into the universe''s guts and put your hand on the wire.'' Math is profound, and profoundly awesome, so we should use it well--or risk being wrong....Witty and expansive, Ellenberg''s math will leave readers informed, intrigued and armed with plenty of impressive conversation starters." Booklist : "Readers will indeed marvel at how often mathematics sheds unexpected light on economics (assessing the performance of investment advisors), public health (predicting the likely prevalence of obesity in 30 years), and politics (explaining why wealthy individuals vote Republican but affluent states go for Democrats). Relying on remarkably few technical formulas, Ellenberg writes with humor and verve as he repeatedly demonstrates that mathematics simply extends common sense. He manages to translate even the work of theoretical pioneers such as Cantor and Gdel into the language of intelligent amateurs. The surprises that await readers include not only a discovery of the astonishing versatility of mathematical thinking but also a realization of its very real limits. Mathematics, as it turns out, simply cannot resolve the real-world ambiguities surrounding the Bush-Gore cliff-hange
