Humble Pi

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AN ADAM SAVAGE BOOK CLUB PICK The book-length answer to anyone who ever put their hand up in math class and asked, “When am I ever going to use this in the real world?” “Fun, informative, and relentlessly entertaining, Humble Pi is a charming and very readable guide to some of humanity's all-time greatest miscalculations—that also gives you permission to feel a little better about some of your own mistakes.” —Ryan North, author of How to Invent Everything Our whole world is built on math, from the code running a website to the equations enabling the design of skyscrapers and bridges. Most of the time this math works quietly behind the scenes . . . until it doesn’t. All sorts of seemingly innocuous mathematical mistakes can have significant consequences. Math is easy to ignore until a misplaced decimal point upends the stock market, a unit conversion error causes a plane to crash, or someone divides by zero and stalls a battleship in the middle of the ocean. Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.

Mathematics made mouth-watering. Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension is an alternative math class. How can math help you choose a second-hand car? Why is a text message like a Sudoku? How much fun can you have with a barcode? Matt Parker explains that math is difficult because it's one of the few subjects that requires us to train our brains to think in an entirely new way, and to confront things with no direct analogy in everyday life--imaginary numbers, snowflakes that only exist in 196884 dimensions, and objects beyond infinity--and shows us why it's worth the effort. Starting with basic arithmetic and geometry, Things To Make and Do teaches us the math we never got to enjoy at school. Each chapter is structured around activities and thought experiments: we are invited to make a calculator out of dominoes, find out why wrapping oranges in plastic wrap is a good way to learn about higher dimensions, and discover what soap bubbles have to teach us about calculus. A series of incremental and hugely entertaining steps take us all the way from simple algebra to the most exotic and fascinating ideas in mathematics: Klein bottles, higher dimensional topology and the many different species of infinity, via unimaginably small pizza slices, Mobius strips and a thorough examination of The Sausage Conjecture. This lively, funny, and deeply intelligent book teaches math in a fun, interactive manner rather than by rote learning and exercises. You'll not look at the number 37 the same way again. And you just might take part in Mobius strip craftwork.

“[Czerski’s] quest to enhance humanity’s everyday scientific literacy is timely and imperative.”—Science Storm in a Teacup is Helen Czerski’s lively, entertaining, and richly informed introduction to the world of physics. Czerski provides the tools to alter the way we see everything around us by linking ordinary objects and occurrences, like popcorn popping, coffee stains, and fridge magnets, to big ideas like climate change, the energy crisis, or innovative medical testing. She provides answers to vexing questions: How do ducks keep their feet warm when walking on ice? Why does it take so long for ketchup to come out of a bottle? Why does milk, when added to tea, look like billowing storm clouds? In an engaging voice at once warm and witty, Czerski shares her stunning breadth of knowledge to lift the veil of familiarity from the ordinary.

Syria - a country at war Amal, Hammoudi and Youssef are young and ambitious, the face of modern Syria. But when civil war tears through their homeland, they are left with a horrifying choice: risk death by staying in the country they love, or flee in search of a new life elsewhere? From one of Germany's most talented literary voices comes this intricately woven story of brutality, loss, and how hope can shine through when darkness feels overwhelming.

In his classic book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking approach for tackling the perilous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here he turns his focus to the individual, revealing the three indispensable virtues of an ideal team player. In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle’s company by restoring its cultural commitment to teamwork. Jeff must crack the code on the virtues that real team players possess, and then build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players. Whether you’re a leader trying to create a culture around teamwork, a staffing professional looking to hire real team players, or a team player wanting to improve yourself, this book will prove to be as useful as it is compelling.

“Anne Dimock is the Proust of pie and her remembrance of pies past is meant to inspire the pies to come. This is a lovely and elegant memoir.” —Garrison Keillor, bestselling author and host of A Prairie Home Companion In America, pie is a food—and a concept—that carries unusual resonance. In Humble Pie, Anne Dimock offers a delightful combination of memoir, pie quotes, inspiration, recipes, travel writing, and assorted philosophical, cultural, and culinary musings on this powerful yet humble dessert. Anne Dimock grew up in a household where, she notes, “A dearth of good pie was a hardship I never encountered, never knew must be borne up by most folk.” When she realized that the decline of the American pie civilization might be a harbinger of even deeper cultural problems, Anne became a woman on a mission to save pie from extinction. Dimock shares her thoughts on the Zen of making pie crust, the politics of pie, judging a man’s character according to his pie protocol, state fair pie competitions, the kinship between pie and baseball, and the search for edible pie at roadside diners. Folksy and full of humor, Humble Pie is more than just an evocative journey through a life lived in pie. It is a culinary manifesto for a pie renaissance, inviting readers to take up their rolling pins and revive an endangered slice of American culture. Dimock advises us all to “Roll back the apprehension, the doubt, and enter the childlike state of grace where all things are possible and anything lost can be found again. The pie you seek resides not only in memory and imagination—your next piece of pie begins right here.”

How well does your organization respond to changing market conditions, customer needs, and emerging technologies when building software-based products? This practical guide presents Lean and Agile principles and patterns to help you move fast at scale—and demonstrates why and how to apply these paradigms throughout your organization, rather than with just one department or team. Through case studies, you’ll learn how successful enterprises have rethought everything from governance and financial management to systems architecture and organizational culture in the pursuit of radically improved performance. Discover how Lean focuses on people and teamwork at every level, in contrast to traditional management practices Approach problem-solving experimentally by exploring solutions, testing assumptions, and getting feedback from real users Lead and manage large-scale programs in a way that empowers employees, increases the speed and quality of delivery, and lowers costs Learn how to implement ideas from the DevOps and Lean Startup movements even in complex, regulated environments

From the international bestselling author of Unlearn, Humble the Poet speaks new truths about how we can create silver linings from our most difficult moments. Every one of us endures setbacks, disappointments, and failures that can beat us down. But we don’t have to let them. Instead, we can use them as opportunities for growth. In Things No One Else Can Teach Us, Humble the Poet goes against conventional wisdom for happiness and success, showing us how our most painful experiences can be our greatest teachers. Humble shares raw, honest stories from his own life—from his rocky start becoming a rapper to nearly going broke to battling racism—to demonstrate how we can change our minds to better our lives. From a breakup to losing a loved one, our hardest moments can help us flourish, but only if we seize the opportunity. While we can’t control life, we have the power to control how we react to it. Things No One Else Can Teach Us reminds us that we have the power to transform the way we respond to everyday challenges and ultimately be our best selves.