Overview

How can sprinter Usain Bolt break his world record without expending any additional effort? Which demands a faster reaction time, tennis or baseball? What dates of birth give rise to the best professional athletes? Is it better to have the inside or outside lane during a race? And how can you improve your balance just by changing your posture? Drawing on vivid, real-life examples, John D. Barrow shows how math and physics can give us surprising, often counterintuitive insights into the world of sports. For example, we learn that left-handed boxers have a statistical advantage over their right-handed opponents and that gymnasts performing the “giant swing” maneuver on the high bar experience stronger g-forces than roller-coaster designers are allowed to create. Thanks to lucid explanations and a healthy dose of humor, Mathletics is the perfect book for sports enthusiasts and math lovers alike.

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9780393063417

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Reviews

...Barrow 's writing is accessible and entertaining, just the thing for mathematically minded sports fans.

Author Information

John D. Barrow is professor of mathematical sciences and director of the Millennium Mathematics Project at Cambridge University, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is the best-selling author of many books on science and mathematics, including Mathletics: 100 Amazing Things You Didn’t Know about the World of Sports and 100 Essential Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know: Math Explains Your World.

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