Mathematics & science – The Bell Bookshop

Proof

Emma — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

‘Profound and utterly absorbing. Kucharski elegantly explores how proof is not just a mathematical concept but a vital tool in decision-making, justice, and survival’ CHRIS VAN TULLEKENHow far would you go in your search for certainty? And once you get there, how do you convince others? From the medieval Islamic world to the recent pandemic, scientific progress has relied on different methods of establishing fact from fiction. Today, in the face of ever-increasing disinformation, how we prove things – to ourselves and others – has never felt more urgent. But there is far more to proof than axioms, theories and scientific laws: when demonstrating that an experimental medical treatment works, persuading a jury of someone’s guilt, or deciding whether to trust a new type of financial transaction, weighing up evidence is rarely simple. Bestselling author, statistician and epidemiologist Adam Kucharski ranges across science, politics, philosophy and economics to explore how truth emerges – and why it falters.

Numbercrunch

Emma — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

‘Lucid and entertaining. With barely an equation in sight, Numbercrunch makes a passionate case for how just a little bit more numeracy could help us all’ – Tom Whipple, The Times’The perfect introduction to the power of mathematics – fluent, friendly and practical’ – Tim Harford, bestselling author of How to Make the World Add UpIn our hyper-modern world, we are bombarded with more facts, stats and information than ever before. So, what can we grasp hold of to make sense of it all? Oliver Johnson reveals how mathematical thinking can help us understand the myriad data all around us. From the exponential growth of viruses to social media filter-bubbles; from share-price fluctuations to growth of computing power; from the datafication of our sports pages to quantifying climate change. Not to mention the things much closer to home: ever wondered when the best time is to leave a party? What are the chances of rain ruining your barbecue this weekend? How about which queue is the best to join in the supermarket?Journeying through the three sections of Randomness, Structure, and Information, we meet a host of brilliant minds such Alan Turing, Enrico Fermi and Claude Shannon, and we learn the tools, tips and tricks to cut through the noise all around us – from the Law of Large Numbers to Entropy to Brownian Motion. Lucid, surprising, and endlessly entertaining, Numbercrunch equips you with a definitive mathematician’s toolkit to make sense of your world.

The Big Bang of Numbers

Emma — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

‘A beautifully written meditation on mathematics: whimsical, thought-provoking and deep‘ ALEX BELLOS, author of Alex’s Adventures in Numberland‘Infinitely fascinating’ THE TIMESOur universe has multiple origin stories, from religious creation myths to the Big Bang of scientists. But if we leave those behind and start from nothing – no matter, no cosmos, not even empty space – could we create a universe using only maths?In this new mathematical origin story, mathematician and award-winning novelist Manil Suri creates a natural progression of ideas needed to design our world, starting with numbers and continuing through geometry, algebra, and beyond. With evocative and engaging examples ranging from multidimensional crochet to the Mona Lisa’s asymmetrical smile, as well as ingenious storytelling that helps illuminate complex concepts like infinity and relativity, The Big Bang of Numbers charts a playful, inventive course to existence.Distilled from almost four decades of teaching experience, and offering both striking new perspectives for maths aficionados and an accessible introduction for enthusiastic novices, The Big Bang of Numbers proves that we can all fall in love with maths.’Who knew numbers could be so charming … Suri takes us on a light-hearted journey all the way from nothing (zero) to infinity‘ KAREN JOY FOWLER, Booker-longlisted author of Booth

How Evolution Explains Everything About Life

Emma — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How did we get here? All cultures have a creation story, but a little over 150 years ago Charles Darwin introduced a revolutionary new one. We, and all living things, exist because of the action of evolution on the first simple life form and its descendants.

We now know that it has taken 3.8 billions of years of work by the forces of evolution to turn what was once a lump of barren rock into the rich diversity of into plants, animals and microbes that surround us. In the process, evolution has created all manner of useful adaptions, from biological computers (brains) to a system to capture energy from the sun (photosynthesis).

But how does evolution actually work? In Evolution, leading biologists and New Scientist take you on a journey of a lifetime, exploring the question of whether life is inevitable or a one-off fluke, and how it got kick-started. Does evolution have a purpose or direction? Are selfish genes really the driving force of evolution? And is evolution itself evolving?

ABOUT THE SERIES
New Scientist Instant Expert books are definitive and accessible entry points to the most important subjects in science; subjects that challenge, attract debate, invite controversy and engage the most enquiring minds. Designed for curious readers who want to know how things work and why, the Instant Expert series explores the topics that really matter and their impact on individuals, society, and the planet, translating the scientific complexities around us into language that’s open to everyone, and putting new ideas and discoveries into perspective and context.

Truly Peculiar

Emma — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Our extraordinary world makes more (and sometimes less) sense when you wonder:What’s driving the international turkey-meat boom?How does a cannonball determine a maritime boundary?Where can you wed your mobile phone?Why do septuagenarians have a better chance of summiting Mount Everest than ever?The ever-keen minds of The Economist Explains solve all these riddles and more in their latest encyclopaedic excursion around the globe. Baffle your friends and colleagues with unconventional headscratchers that shed surprising light on science, culture, world affairs and more. From the underground trade in hair to Hollywood’s role in the creation of the snow globe, Truly Peculiar takes a walk on the weird side.

The Rules of Contagion

Emma — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

An Observer Book of the YearA Times Science Book of the YearA New Statesman Book of the YearA Financial Times Science Book of the Year’Astonishingly bold’ Daily Mail’It is hard to imagine a more timely book … much of the modern world will make more sense having read it.’ The TimesWe live in a world that’s more interconnected than ever before. Our lives are shaped by outbreaks – of disease, of misinformation, even of violence – that appear, spread and fade away with bewildering speed. To understand them, we need to learn the hidden laws that govern them. From ‘superspreaders’ who might spark a pandemic or bring down a financial system to the social dynamics that make loneliness catch on, The Rules of Contagion offers compelling insights into human behaviour and explains how we can get better at predicting what happens next.Along the way, Adam Kucharski explores how innovations spread through friendship networks, what links computer viruses with folk stories – and why the most useful predictions aren’t necessarily the ones that come true.Now revised and updated with content on Covid-19.

Artificial Intelligence Ladybird Expert

Emma — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO AI FROM THE PRESENTER OF THE 2023 ROYAL INSTITUTION CHRISTMAS LECTURE

‘I propose to consider the question, ‘Can machines think?’ Alan Turing (1950)

Part of the ALL-NEW Ladybird Expert series.

This book is for everyone living in the age of Artificial Intelligence. And this is an accessible and authoritative introduction to one of the most important conversations of our time . . .

Written by computer scientist Michael Wooldridge, Artificial Intelligence chronicles the development of intelligent machines, from Turing’s dream of machines that think, to today’s digital assistants like Siri and Alexa.

AI is not something that awaits us in the future. Inside you’ll learn how we have come to rely on embedded AI software and what a world of ubiquitous AI might look like.

What’s inside?

– The British mathematician Alan Turing
– Can machines ‘understand’?
– Logical and Behavioural AI
– The reality of AI today
– AI tomorrow
– And much more . . .

For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.