As a mathematician, philosopher, logician, historian, socialist, pacifist, and social critic, Bertrand Russell is noted for his "revolt against idealism" in Britain in the early 20th century, as well as his pacifist activism during WWI, a campaign against Adolf Hitler and later the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. In addition to his political activism, he is considered to be one of the founders of analytic philosophy, receiving the Nobel...

The irresistibly engaging book that "enlarges one's wonder at Tammet's mind and his all-embracing vision of the world as grounded in numbers" (Oliver Sacks, MD).
Thinking in Numbers is the book that Daniel Tammet, mathematical savant and bestselling author, was born to write. In Tammet's world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes, everyday examples, and ruminations on history, literature,...

Logic is intellectual self-defense against such assaults on reason and also a method of quality control for checking the validity of your own views. But beyond these very practical benefits, informal logic—the kind we apply in daily life—is the gateway to an elegant and fascinating branch of philosophy known as formal logic, which is philosophy’s equivalent to calculus. Formal logic is a breathtakingly versatile tool. Much like a Swiss army...

This easy-to-understand and fully illustrated handbook teaches essential math concepts using real-life examples so you can confidently apply math skills in everyday situations such as personal finance, cooking, home repair, and shopping

We commonly define the Pythagorean theorem using the formula a2 + b2 = c2. But Pythagoras himself would have been confused by that. Explore how this famous theorem can be explained using common geometric shapes (no fancy algebra required), and how it’s a critical foundation for the rest of geometry.

Practical, scientific, philosophical, and artistic problems have caused men to investigate mathematics. But there is one other motive which is as strong as any of these-the search for beauty. Mathematics is an art, and as such affords the pleasures which all the arts afford." In this erudite, entertaining college-level text, Morris Kline, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at New York University, provides the liberal arts student with a detailed treatment...

Geometry is based on a handful of definitions and axioms involving points, lines, and angles. These lead to important conclusions about the properties ofpolygons. This lecture uses geometric reasoning to derive the Pythagorean theorem and other interesting results.

Arguably the most important area of mathematics, algebra introduces the powerful idea of using an abstract variable to represent an unknown quantity. This lecture demonstrates algebra's golden rule: Do unto one side of an equation as you do unto the other.

Investigating more real-world applications of linear equations, derive the formula for converting degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit; determine the boiling point of water in Denver, Colorado; and calculate the speed of a rising balloon and the time for an elevator to descend to the ground floor.

Spatial analysis is a set of statistical tools used to find additional order and patterns in spatial phenomena. Drawing on libraries for spatial analysis in R, use a type of graph called a semivariogram to plot the spatial autocorrelation of the measured sample points. Try your hand at data sets involving the geographic incidence of various medical conditions.