Millions, Billions, Zillions
eBook - PDF

Millions, Billions, Zillions

Defending Yourself in a World of Too Many Numbers

  1. 177 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Millions, Billions, Zillions

Defending Yourself in a World of Too Many Numbers

About this book

An essential guide to recognizing bogus numbers and misleading data

Numbers are often intimidating, confusing, and even deliberately deceptive—especially when they are really big. The media loves to report on millions, billions, and trillions, but frequently makes basic mistakes or presents such numbers in misleading ways. And misunderstanding numbers can have serious consequences, since they can deceive us in many of our most important decisions, including how to vote, what to buy, and whether to make a financial investment. In this short, accessible, enlightening, and entertaining book, leading computer scientist Brian Kernighan teaches anyone—even diehard math-phobes—how to demystify the numbers that assault us every day.

With examples drawn from a rich variety of sources, including journalism, advertising, and politics, Kernighan demonstrates how numbers can mislead and misrepresent. In chapters covering big numbers, units, dimensions, and more, he lays bare everything from deceptive graphs to speciously precise numbers. And he shows how anyone—using a few basic ideas and lots of shortcuts—can easily learn to recognize common mistakes, determine whether numbers are credible, and make their own sensible estimates when needed.

Giving you the simple tools you need to avoid being fooled by dubious numbers, Millions, Billions, Zillions is an essential survival guide for a world drowning in big—and often bad—data.

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Information

Publisher
Princeton University Press
Year
2018
Print ISBN
9780691209098
9780691182773
eBook ISBN
9780691190136
Topic
Mathematics
Subtopic
Counting & Numeration
Index
Mathematics

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Chapter 1: Getting Started
  9. Chapter 2: Millions, Billions, Zillions
  10. Chapter 3: Big Numbers
  11. Chapter 4: Mega, Giga, Tera, and Beyond
  12. Chapter 5: Units
  13. Chapter 6: Dimensionality
  14. Chapter 7: Milestones
  15. Chapter 8: Specious Precision
  16. Chapter 9: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
  17. Chapter 10: Graphical Trickery
  18. Chapter 11: Bias
  19. Chapter 12: Arithmetic
  20. Chapter 13: Estimation
  21. Chapter 14: Self Defense
  22. Further Reading
  23. Figure Credits

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Yes, you can access Millions, Billions, Zillions by Brian W. Kernighan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Mathematics & Counting & Numeration. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.