| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
1 online resource (x, 338 pages) : illustrations (some color) |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references, webology and index. |
| Contents |
COVER; IS THAT A BIG NUMBER?; COPYRIGHT; BEWILDERED BY BIG NUMBERS?; DEDICATION; CONTENTS; Introduction-Numbers Count; Introduction; The world is chaotic; Numbers count; Developing number sense; Five ways to think about big numbers; Everything connects; Numerical serendipity; For your numerical delight; Random alignments; The First Technique: Landmark Numbers-When You're Lost, Look for Landmarks; PART 1 COUNTING NUMBERS; What Counts?-How We Get from 1, 2, 3 to 'How Many Fish in the Sea?'; Counting up; What does it mean to count?; Counting (like) crows; The calculus of counting sheep. |
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Counting is singing; Feynman can count and read; Tukey can count and talk; Singing is counting; Keeping tallies; Approximate counting; How big is Yankee Stadium?; When is 'more or less' good enough?; How many fish in the sea?; How many stars in the sky?; So, what counts?; How big is a billion?; Numbers in the World-How Numeracy Connects to Everyday Life; The age-old question: How strong is the beer?; What is numeracy?; It's not mathematics; It's not accounting; Folk numeracy versus scientific numeracy; We're innumerate, but literate; Words about numbers; Why do words matter? |
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Words embracing numbers; Etymology of unit names; Scientific notation; The powers of a thousand; Where do the big numbers start?; Firm ground; Where do I reach my numerical depth?; Exposure to big numbers; Visualising a thousand; Powers of a thousand in language; All roads lead to a thousand; Precision; The Second Technique: Visualisation-Paint a Picture in Your Mind; How big is a billion?; Unsquaring; How many tennis balls does it take to fill St Paul's?; PART 2 MEASURING UP; Measurement; What it means to measure; About the Size of It-Numbers to Quantify the Space We Live in. |
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The Long and the Short and the Tall; Made to measure; Out and about; Metre for measure; Measuring the things around us; Sports: heights; Sports: distances; How big is a football field?; How far can you throw that thing?; Sports: equipment; The Long versus the Tall; Buildings and other structures; Routes and roads; Crossing continents; Rivers; The Lego world; How far is 1000 km?; How high is 100 metres?; The Third Technique: Divide and Conquer-Take One Bite at a Time; Distributing the load; Pick your units and your multiples; Ticking Away-How We Measure the Fourth Dimension; It's about time. |
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The wheels of time; Time is change; Giving the time of day; It's that time of year; Some things just won't fit; Turning years into numbers; Measuring prehistory; Time and technology; The far future; What happened a thousand years ago? A number ladder for time; An Even Briefer History of Time; Geological time by the numbers; Human prehistory by the numbers; The evolution of Homo sapiens; The big migration; Technological landmarks; Ancient history by the numbers; 5000 years and more ago (3000 bce and before); 4000-3000 years ago (2000 bce to 1000 bce); 3000-2500 years ago (1000 bce to 500 bce). |
| Summary |
Impressive numbers are thrown at us by the news every day. They are meant to help us understand, to compare, to evaluate, but in practice they often befuddle rather than enlighten. This entertaining, practical book gives us the tools and tips to decipher the figures, and to enjoy the way numbers enable us to understand our world. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Mathematics -- Popular works.
|
|
Mathematics. |
| Genre/Form |
Popular works.
|
| Subject |
MATHEMATICS -- Essays. |
|
MATHEMATICS -- Pre-Calculus. |
|
MATHEMATICS -- Reference. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: 0198821220 |
| ISBN |
9780192554413 (electronic book) |
|
0192554417 (electronic book) |
|
9780192554420 (electronic book) |
|
0192554425 (electronic book) |
|
9780198821229 |
|
