@BOOK{NAP11543, editor = "George G. Szpiro", title = "The Secret Life of Numbers: 50 Easy Pieces on How Mathematicians Work and Think", doi = "10.17226/11543", abstract = "Most of us picture mathematicians laboring before a chalkboard, scribbling\nnumbers and obscure symbols as they mutter unintelligibly. This\nlighthearted (but realistic) sneak-peak into the everyday world of mathematicians\nturns that stereotype on its head.Most people have little idea what\nmathematicians do or how they think.\nIt\u2019s often difficult to see how their\nseemingly arcane and esoteric work\napplies to our own everyday lives. But\nmathematics also holds a special allure\nfor many people. We are drawn to its\ninherent beauty and fascinated by its\ncomplexity\u2014but often intimidated by\nits presumed difficulty.\nThe Secret Life of Numbers opens our\neyes to the joys of mathematics, introducing\nus to the charming, often\nwhimsical side, of the discipline.\nDivided into several parts, the book\nlooks at interesting and largely unknown historical tidbits, introduces the largerthan-\nlife practitioners of mathematics through the ages, profiles some of the\nmost significant unsolved conjectures, and describes problems and puzzles that\nhave already been solved. Rounding out the table of contents is a host of mathematical\nmiscellany\u2014all of which add up to 50 fun, sometimes cheeky, shorttakes\non the field.\nChock full of stories, anecdotes, and entertaining vignettes, The Secret Life of\nNumbers shows us how mathematics really does affect almost every aspect of\nlife\u2014from the law to geography, elections to botany\u2014and we come to appreciate\nthe delight and gratification that mathematics holds for all of us.\n", url = "https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11543/the-secret-life-of-numbers-50-easy-pieces-on-how", year = 2006, publisher = "The National Academies Press", address = "Washington, DC" }