The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus: Hannah, OlÚron Evans, Thomas Fry

by Dr Thomas Oléron Evans (Author), Hannah Fry (Author)

New
Hardcover
2017
$16.31

How do you apply game theory to select who should be on your Christmas shopping list ? Can you predict Her Majesty's Christmas Message? Will calculations show Santa is getting steadily thinner - shimmying up and down chimneys for a whole night - or fatter - as he tucks into a mince pie and a glass of sherry in billions of houses across the world? Full of diagrams, sketches and graphs, beautiful equations, Markov chains and matrices, The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus brightens up the bleak midwinter with stockingfuls of mathematical marvels. And proves once and for all that maths isn't just for old men with white hair and beards who associate with elves. Maths has never been merrier. NOW WITH A BRAND NEW CHAPTER

Synopsis

How do you apply game theory to select who should be on your Christmas shopping list ? Can you predict Her Majesty's Christmas Message? Will calculations show Santa is getting steadily thinner - shimmying up and down chimneys for a whole night - or fatter - as he tucks into a mince pie and a glass of sherry in billions of houses across the world? Full of diagrams, sketches and graphs, beautiful equations, Markov chains and matrices, The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus brightens up the bleak midwinter with stockingfuls of mathematical marvels. And proves once and for all that maths isn't just for old men with white hair and beards who associate with elves. Maths has never been merrier. NOW WITH A BRAND NEW CHAPTER

$16.31

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20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 160
Edition: 1
Publisher: Black Swan
Published: 16 Nov 2017
ISBN 10: 1784162744
ISBN 13: 9781784162740
Book Overview: The updated edition of this dazzling, magical mathematical tour of the festive season with the most elegant mathematical solutions to your Christmas conundrums, from how to avoid a secret Santa disaster to how to win the festive family games.

Media Reviews

A smart, witty, original take on the festive season, with calculations and theories to help you prepare and solve your Christmas conundrums. * The Sun *
Just in case the charm and beauty of mathematical thinking has passed by some of your friends and family, they will be grateful for this slim volume in their stocking. The puzzles and games of Hannah Fry and Thomas Evans involving present-wrapping and Queen's Speech bingo are but an entry drug for heady passages about the natureof truth and game theory. * New Scientist *
From the perfect Secret Santa gift to finally proving the existence of St Nick, a new book uses mathematics to crack the toughest festival conundrums. * Evening Standard *
The broadcaster and author of The Mathematics of Love teams up with a mathematician and writer for this intelligent stocking filler ... sounds enormous fun. * Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller *

Author Bio

Dr Hannah Fry is a mathematician from University College London. In her day job she uses mathematical models to study patterns in human behaviour, from riots and terrorism to trade and shopping. You'll also find her on BBC radio and television where she regularly presents science programmes, or on Youtube's Numberphile channel. Dr Thomas Oleron Evans describes himself as a mathematician and a writer, though how others would describe him is anyone's guess. He used to be a secondary school teacher, but managed to escape and now has a research and lecturing job in London. While broadly agreeable, this does make life a little complicated, since he lives in Strasbourg, France.