Thinking in pictures

Emma — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

‘One of the most original writers around. He has profoundly influenced my thinking.’ Hannah Fry Why thinking in pictures? Short answer: because the words seem to need help. If you sample the many smart-thinking books to hit the shelves recently, they all promise a smarter, more rational you, and it all seems just pages away. But if the books are that good, why are there so many? And have they succeeded in moving the dial of people’s reasoning? Using illustrations and photographs, Michael Blastland shows how pictures can help put ideas to the test, making them vivid, showing them in action. Part guide, part gallery, Thinking in Pictures is a brilliantly original and witty introduction to smart-thinking – how to use it and when to question it – for anyone trying to make sense of a puzzling world.

Tiger That Isnt

Emma — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Mathematics scares and depresses most of us, but politicians, journalists and everyone in power use numbers all the time to bamboozle us. Most maths is really simple – as easy as 2+2 in fact. Better still it can be understood without any jargon, any formulas – and in fact not even many numbers. Most of it is commonsense, and by using a few really simple principles one can quickly see when maths, statistics and numbers are being abused to play tricks – or create policies – which can waste millions of pounds. It is liberating to understand when numbers are telling the truth or being used to lie, whether it is health scares, the costs of government policies, the supposed risks of certain activities or the real burden of taxes.

Blastland, Michael – The Bell Bookshop

Thinking in pictures

Tiger That Isnt