In this week’s eSkeptic:
SCIENCE SALON THIS SUNDAY JAN. 24
The Magic of Math: Solving for x and Figuring Out Why
The Magic of Math is the math book you wish you had in school. Using a delightful assortment of examples—from ice cream scoops and poker hands to measuring mountains and making magic squares—this book empowers you to see the beauty, simplicity, and truly magical properties behind those formulas and equations that once left your head spinning. You’ll learn the key ideas of classic areas of mathematics like arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus, but you’ll also have fun fooling around with Fibonacci numbers, investigating infinity, and marveling over mathematical magic tricks that will make you look like a math genius!
A mathematician who is known throughout the world as the “mathemagician,” Arthur Benjamin mixes mathematics and magic to make the subject fun, attractive, and easy to understand. In The Magic of Math, Benjamin does more than just teach skills: with a tip of his magic hat, he takes you on as his apprentice to teach you how to appreciate math the way he does. He motivates you to learn something new about how to solve for x, because there is real pleasure to be found in the solution to a challenging problem or in using numbers to do something useful. But what he really wants you to do is be able to figure out why, for that’s where you’ll find the real beauty, power, and magic of math.
If you are already someone who likes math, this Science Salon will dazzle and amuse you. If you never particularly liked or understood math, Benjamin will enlighten you and—with a wave of his magic wand—turn you into a math lover.
Order The Magic of Math from Amazon. We will also have Benjamin’s The Great Courses, including The Joy of Math, Discrete Mathematics, The Secrets of Mental Math, and Mathematics of Games and Puzzles, available for purchase at the event.
Call 1-626-794-3119 now to reserve.
NEW INTERVIEW VIDEO
Michael Shermer Discusses What Inspired Him To Write Science for General Audiences
About the Book
For fifteen years, bestselling author Michael Shermer has written a column in Scientific American magazine that synthesizes scientific concepts and theory for a general audience. His trademark combination of deep scientific understanding and entertaining writing style has thrilled his huge and devoted audience for years. Now, in SKE?TIC, seventy-five of these columns are available together for the first time; a welcome addition for his fans and a stimulating introduction for new readers.
Breakfast Cereal Skepticism
SKEPTICALITY EPISODE 266
In this episode of Skepticality, Derek has a conversation with Zack Wienersmith, the creator/author of the popular web comic series Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC). Zach was a speaker at The Amazing Meeting 13. So, while they were both in the same bulding, Derek was able to get some time with Zack to discuss how he got interested in science, skeptical thinking, and how the two relate … or not.
