We all like to think we're making decisions based on reality, but in fact, we're almost always working from incomplete information. And when 'you don't know what you don't know', it can be impossible to navigate successfully.In You Don't Know What You're Missing mathematician Kit Yates explores the blind spots, gaps in our knowledge and how we make sense of the world given we usually have an unfinished picture. From avoiding common traps and pitfalls to filling in the gaps...

A Waterstones Best Popular Science Book of 2023'Delightfully clear and vivid to read...A splendid book! Philip Pullman'Absolutely fascinating' James O'Brien'An exceptional book - readable, funny and more needed than ever' Dr Chris van Tulleken, bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People· Are you more likely to become a professional footballer if your surname is Ball?· How c...

*SELECTED AS ONE OF THE SUNDAY TIMES SCIENCE BOOKS OF THE YEAR*"This is an exquisitely interesting book. It's a deeply serious one too and, for those like me who have little maths, it's delightfully readable" - IAN MCEWAN"An exciting new voice in the world of science communication" - MARCUS DU SAUTOY"An extremely thoughtful, articulate and accessibl...

A “vivid, wide-ranging, and delightful guide” (bestselling author Tim Harford) for understanding how and why predictions go wrong, with practical tips to give you a better chance of getting them rightHow can you be 100 percent sure you will win a bet? Why did so many Pompeians stay put while Mount Vesuvius was erupting? Are you more likely to work in a kitchen if your last name is Baker? Ever since the dawn of human civilization, we have been trying to make predict...

Brilliant and entertaining mathematician Kit Yates illuminates seven mathematical concepts that shape our daily lives.From birthdays to birth rates to how we perceive the passing of time, mathematical patterns shape our lives. But for those of us who left math behind in high school, the numbers and figures we encounter as we go about our days can leave us scratching our heads, feeling as if we’re fumbling through a mathematical minefield. In this eye-opening and “w...

A Waterstones Best Popular Science Book of 2023'Delightfully clear and vivid to read...A splendid book! Philip Pullman'Absolutely fascinating' James O'Brien'An exceptional book - readable, funny and more needed than ever' Dr Chris van Tulleken, bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People· Are you more likely to become a professional footballer if your surname is Ball?· How c...

We all like to think we're making decisions based on reality, but in fact, we're almost always working from incomplete information. And when 'you don't know what you don't know', it can be impossible to navigate successfully.In You Don't Know What You're Missing mathematician Kit Yates explores the blind spots, gaps in our knowledge and how we make sense of the world given we usually have an unfinished picture. From avoiding common traps and pitfalls to filling in the gaps...

Maths is the story of the world around us, and the wisdom it gives us can be the difference between success and disaster.We are all doing maths all the time, from the way we communicate with each other to the way we travel, from how we work to how we relax. Many of us are aware of this. But few of us really appreciate the full power of maths - the extent to which its influence is not only in every office and every home, but also in every courtroom and hospital ward...

A “vivid, wide-ranging, and delightful guide” (bestselling author Tim Harford) for understanding how and why predictions go wrong, with practical tips to give you a better chance of getting them rightHow can you be 100 percent sure you will win a bet? Why did so many Pompeians stay put while Mount Vesuvius was erupting? Are you more likely to work in a kitchen if your last name is Baker? Ever since the dawn of human civilization, we have been trying to make predict...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'As a champion catastrophizer, I can confirm that this book is a godsend' Dawn French'A must read and a great companion' Zoe Ball'Terrific... If I could eat a book it would be this one' Derren Brown'A wise, warm, compassionate guide to living we...

Brought to you by Penguin.100 words: The New York Times bestselling author returns with a mind-opening exploration of how size defines life on Earth.Explaining the key processes shaping size in nature, society and technology, Smil busts myths around proportions - from bodies to paintings and the so-called golden ratio - tells us what Jonathan Swift got wrong in Gulliver's Travels - the giant Brobdingnagian's legs would buc...

Brought to you by Penguin.The bestselling, prizewinning author of How to Live and At the Existentialist Café brings us a celebration of 700 years of human endeavour and achievement, in which dozens of philosophers, scientists, classicists, architects, educationalists and others explore the art of being humanHumanly Possible is a wide-ranging, personal, thought-provoking and entertaining journey through the battle ...