The Ten Equations That Rule the World: And How You Can Use Them Too
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-10 08:52:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：David Sumpter
- ISBN：1250246962
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Summary
Is there a secret formula for getting rich？ For going viral？ For deciding how long to stick with your current job， Netflix series， or even relationship？
This book is all about the equations that make our world go round。 Ten of them， in fact。 They are integral to everything from investment banking to betting companies and social media giants。 And they can help you to increase your chance of success， guard against financial loss， live more healthfully， and see through scaremongering。 They are known by only the privileged few - until now。
With wit and clarity， mathematician David Sumpter shows that it isn't the technical details that make these formulas so successful。 It is the way they allow mathematicians to view problems from a different angle - a way of seeing the world that anyone can learn。
Empowering and illuminating， The Ten Equations That Rule the World shows how math really can change your life。
This book is all about the equations that make our world go round。 Ten of them， in fact。 They are integral to everything from investment banking to betting companies and social media giants。 And they can help you to increase your chance of success， guard against financial loss， live more healthfully， and see through scaremongering。 They are known by only the privileged few - until now。
With wit and clarity， mathematician David Sumpter shows that it isn't the technical details that make these formulas so successful。 It is the way they allow mathematicians to view problems from a different angle - a way of seeing the world that anyone can learn。
Empowering and illuminating， The Ten Equations That Rule the World shows how math really can change your life。
Reviews
Guyk
，
Fun read。 I might quibble with some of his names for formulae but I'd gladly point to any of the individual chapters as an introduction， an abstract of what each of the formulas does。 I would definitely recommend this book to friends that dig math and computer science （and yes， many of them might still remember the courses where they learned every word of this book --- this book might bore them） Fun read。 I might quibble with some of his names for formulae but I'd gladly point to any of the individual chapters as an introduction， an abstract of what each of the formulas does。 I would definitely recommend this book to friends that dig math and computer science （and yes， many of them might still remember the courses where they learned every word of this book --- this book might bore them） 。。。more
David
，
As is usual from David Sumpter， TEN equations is an exceptional and exhaustive read。 There is another review which understably questions why Sumpter opts to expand on the equations through use cases in industries such as gambling， sport， search and social media but the answer is somewhat obvious， is it not？ He has real experience of the mechanics in the industries but most of all they’re popular sports or companies well known to all who’ve given themselves an almost unassailable lead by harnessi As is usual from David Sumpter， TEN equations is an exceptional and exhaustive read。 There is another review which understably questions why Sumpter opts to expand on the equations through use cases in industries such as gambling， sport， search and social media but the answer is somewhat obvious， is it not？ He has real experience of the mechanics in the industries but most of all they’re popular sports or companies well known to all who’ve given themselves an almost unassailable lead by harnessing key mathematical principles for their benefit。 They’re provocative through their profiteering as the rest of the world sits in the 99% oblivious to the terms the true game is played on。 David has a wonderful way of adding a human touch to what can be complex academic principles so again like all of his books it’s well worth taking the time out to read them。 。。。more
Borna
，
Enjoyable book， overall。
Ángel Pérez
，
Great book also for beginners where you can start to develop an understanding of several important equations。 The writing style is catching and you don’t feel bored in any moment of the book。 Nevertheless， he spends too much time trying to convince the reader about his own personal opinions。
Joey Stephen
，
Wow！ What a fascinating read！ The first twenty pages or so were slightly daunting， but then I relaxed into the book and realised that I didn’t have to fully understand all the mathematical equations and their symbols in order to enjoy the book。 Learning about how these equations are applied （and can be applied） to all areas of life （from the stock market to deciding how many episodes you should give a Netflix series before giving up on it） is mind blowing。
Brian Clegg
，
David Sumpter makes it clear in this book that a couple of handfuls of equations have a huge influence on our everyday lives。 I needed an equation too to give this book a star rating - I’ve never had one where there was such a divergence of feeling about it。 I wanted to give it five stars for the exposition of the power and importance of these equations and just two stars for an aspect of the way that Sumpter did it。 The fact that the outcome of applying my star balancing equation was four stars David Sumpter makes it clear in this book that a couple of handfuls of equations have a huge influence on our everyday lives。 I needed an equation too to give this book a star rating - I’ve never had one where there was such a divergence of feeling about it。 I wanted to give it five stars for the exposition of the power and importance of these equations and just two stars for an aspect of the way that Sumpter did it。 The fact that the outcome of applying my star balancing equation was four stars emphasises how good the content is。What we have here is ten key equations from applied mathematics。 （Strictly， nine， as the tenth isn’t really an equation， it’s the programmer’s favourite ‘If… then…’ - though as a programmer I was always more an ‘If… then… else…’ fan。） Those equations range from the magnificent one behind Bayesian statistics and the predictive power of logistic regression to the method of determining confidence intervals and the kind of influencer matrix so beloved of social media companies。 Each is well-described with often personal examples。 While it’s hyperbole to suggest that these ten equations rule the world of applied mathematics， let alone the real world， they are certainly key components of the applied mathematics toolbox。Let me make it clear， I should have absolutely loved this book - it should have been the best book I’ve read all year。 The introduction and clear explanation of these equations gives me exactly the same thrill I remember doing my Masters in Operational Research and discovering the power to do remarkable things for people and businesses that these kind of techniques bring。 Wonderful。 But。The lesser problem I have with the context is that almost all of Sumpter’s big examples of applications in the world were either trivial （in sports or games， for example） or morally dodgy， such as betting， stock market trading or social media and advertising manipulation of people。 Sumpter suggests at one point that though these tools can be used for good or evil， those who use them are mostly on the side of the angels - it hardly seems to be the case with the examples he uses。The bigger problem is that Sumpter frames all this with applied mathematicians being described as members of TEN， a secret illuminati-style set of people who rule the world through their ability to understand and make use of these equations。 This comes across as both silly and intensely smug - I really don’t think it does anything to win across those for whom any equation is a turn-off。 Instead it just underlines any existing prejudice。The frustrating thing is that Sumpter makes passing reference to lots of real research with positive implications where these approaches are taken - but all his big stories are about things like sports betting which hardly comes across as a positive thing to do。 The downside of the smugness is that it’s difficult not to look for opportunities to turn some of his comments against him。 So， for example， he criticises 60 to 69 year olds who criticise Greta Thunberg for damaging the environment by flying off on holiday without pointing out that academics like Sumpter are always jetting off around the world to conferences - a touch of the glass houses equation required there。This was truly a hard review to write。 I really like David Sumpter’s work and looked forward to reading this book as soon as I saw it。 Somehow it manages to be excellent and an opportunity missed all at the same time。 。。。more
Pete
，