A Famous James Adventure set in Chiba, Japan, where English practice, friendship, and a few unexpected turns make one Friday anything but ordinary.

Pattern-recognition prowess served our ancestors well, but today we are confronted by a deluge of data that is far more abstract, complicated, and difficult to interpret. The number of possible patterns that can be identified relative to the number that are genuinely useful has grown exponentially - which means that the chances that a discovered pattern is useful is rapidly approaching zero. Patterns in data are often used as evidence, but how can you tell if that evidence is worth believi...

There is no doubt science is currently suffering from a credibility crisis. This thought-provoking book argues that, ironically, science's credibility is being undermined by tools created by scientists themselves. Scientific disinformation and damaging conspiracy theories are rife because of the internet that science created, the scientific demand for empirical evidence and statistical significance leads to data torturing and confirmation bias, and data mining is fuelled ...

“A very entertaining book about a very serious problem. We deceive ourselves all the time with statistics, and it is time we wised up.” –Robert J. Shiller, Winner of the Nobel Prize in EconomicsDid you know that baseball players whose names begin with the letter “D” are more likely to die young? Or that Asian Americans are most susceptible to heart attacks on the fourth day of the month? Or that drinking a full pot of coffee every morning will add years to your life, but one cup a ...

Did you know that chicken eggs can influence how computers generate random events? Or that humans can postpone death until after important ceremonial occasions? Or live three to five years longer if they have positive initials, like ACE?All these 'facts' have been presented with a straight face by researchers and backed up with convincing statistics. In Standard Deviations, economics professor Gary Smith walks us through the various tricks and traps we so often fall into. ...

Data science has never had more influence on the world. Large companies are now seeing the benefit of employing data scientists to interpret the vast amounts of data that now exists. However, the field is so new and is evolving so rapidly that the analysis produced can be haphazard at best. The 9 Pitfalls of Data Science shows us real-world examples of what can go wrong. Written to be an entertaining read, this invaluable guide investigates the all too common mistakes of data scie...

We live in an incredible period in history. The Computer Revolution may be even more life-changing than the Industrial Revolution. We can do things with computers that could never be done before, and computers can do things for us that could never be done before. But our love of computers should not cloud our thinking about their limitations. We are told that computers are smarter than humans and that data mining can identify previously unknown truths, or make discoveries that will revolut...

Written in a simple yet engaging style, Dr Kevin Smith applies his years of experience and expertise in scholarly writing and research in this one-volume guide. Perfect as an introduction for new and continuing undergraduate or postgraduate students, this publication provides helpful guidelines and illustrations on all the elements that go into producing an academic work. Combining specific instruction on researching and preparing an academic work, as well as practical advice for task mana...

Who was the first goaltender to wear a mask in a game? Who was the last to go without one? When did goalies start painting their masks?These are just a few of the questions that are answered in this definitive book on goalie masks. Saving Face looks at the development of the mask from its earliest days as a rudimentary face-saving device to its current high-tech design, bullet-proof construction, and cutting-edge artwork.The book offers a visual journey, too. More ...

A small Nebraska town is terrorized by a serial killer who targets young “good” girls. The prime suspect disappears and may have himself become someone else’s victim. Warren Steelgrave has just written a best-selling novel and gained further nationwide notoriety when he narrowly escaped being murdered at his daughter’s wedding. The local Nebraska town newspaper hires Warren as an investigative reporter because of his unique insights and his uncanny instinct for finding the truth. More pape...

The stock market is a wild and scary roller coaster ride that investors have tried to tame with superficially appealing but ultimately flawed strategies—technical analysis, modern portfolio theory, CAPM, factor models, and algos. Many have simply given up and settled for indexing. This book explains the fundamental flaws that make so many strategies hazardous to our wealth.There is a better way—what the authors call Investing 6.0—that is simple enough for anyone to use. No fancy ma...

We underestimate the importance of luck in our lives. We think too highly of the golfer who wins the British Open and, if he loses the next tournament, we speculate that he slacked off. Although the winner is surely an excellent golfer, good luck in how the ball bounced and how it rolled afterwards outside of the golfer's control also played an important role. An insufficient appreciation of chance can wreak all kinds of mischief not only in sports, but also education, medicine, business, ...