Mathematics in Everyday Life cover

Mathematics in Everyday Life

Rating 3.3
Word count
277 words
Chapters
24
ISBN
9787566833686

Tags

Summary

This book is an outstanding popular science work created under a 2019 Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Program project. Using concise, vivid illustrations, diagrams, and informal daily essays, the author explains how mathematics comes into play in everyday life—for example, the accuracy of major illness screening, the use of store coupons, leveling a wobbly table, participating in lottery games, customizing fitness packages, lawful tax avoidance, allocating delegate seats, students falling into loan traps, failing to find keys when leaving home, and evaluating what others do. In plain, accessible language, the book shows how mathematical problems arise and how they are solved, inspiring people to use mathematics to explore life and gain insight into it.

Editor's review

This book's virtue is that it liberates mathematics from the textbook and returns it to the dinner table, the shopping mall, the medical checkup center, and the gym. With concise illustrations and an informal essayistic style, the author takes apart everyday scenarios one by one—the accuracy of major illness screening, the real discount behind a coupon, how to steady a wobbling table, the expected value of a lottery game, the traps in student loans—so readers see how mathematical problems grow out of life and how they are solved. It does not pursue rigorous derivation of formulas but focuses on presenting the process of thinking, making for a light read that nevertheless leaves one a bit more alert and curious about everyday matters after closing the book. It works well as a general-readership book to keep at hand for casual browsing, and as a source of classroom material for mathematics teachers. For adults who want to get close to mathematics again but fear being scared off by symbols, it offers a low-threshold entry point.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Adult readers intimidated by mathematics who want to rebuild a friendly relationship with it
  • Primary and secondary school mathematics teachers needing life-based teaching materials and examples
  • General readers who enjoy reading popular science in spare moments to broaden their knowledge
  • Readers concerned with everyday decisions such as consumer traps and the accuracy of medical screening

Not a good fit for

  • Readers seeking systematic study of mathematical theory, with rigorous proofs and exercise training
  • Middle and high school students looking for competition or exam preparation materials
  • Readers who prefer long-form exposition and are uncomfortable with the essayistic short-chapter structure

Reading tips

  1. Pick the everyday scenarios you care about most from the table of contents and start there; no need to proceed in order.
  2. When you reach a case, close the book and think it through yourself first, then compare with the author's reasoning and note the differences.
  3. Keep a pen handy and rework the scenarios in the book using examples from your own life.
  4. Mathematics teachers can adapt individual cases into classroom introductions paired with student discussion.

About the publisher

Jinan University Press China · Founded in 1989

Jinan University Press is a comprehensive university press known for publishing in language and writing, history and culture, and medicine. Judging from the 2,481 titles in the database, its publishing focuses on language and writing research, the compilation of unearthed documents, Chinese culture and Eastern philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine, and grassroots medical standards. Representative books include the Chinese Dictionary (Second Edition), the series on the collected interpretation and modern translation of Warring States documents from the Language Services Series and the series on the language of unearthed documents, Chinese Cultural Psychology (6th Edition), Illustrated Compendium of Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Techniques, and Construction and Technical Standards for Standardized Bronchoscopy Rooms in Primary-Level Pediatrics. In terms of authors, scholars such as Zhu Cheng, Zhang Yujin, Wang Fengyan, Zheng Hong, Cao Hui and Ma Zhiguo form its author base in language and documents, cultural psychology, and traditional Chinese medicine. In terms of publishing characteristics, the press emphasizes the collected interpretation and modern translation of unearthed documents and language service research, while also systematically organizing cultural psychology and medical techniques. Public information on specific matters such as overseas Chinese-language education is limited and is therefore not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序
  3. 前言
  4. 01 买菜时除了做算术,数学人还可以想什么?
  5. 02 我们有缘生日相同吗?
  6. 03 信还是不信?——一份医学检测报告引发的理性思考!
  7. 04 优惠“圈”住你了吗?
  8. 05 划算怎么算?
  9. 06 桌子能在不平的地面上放稳吗?
  10. 07 “公平”的赌博游戏
  11. 08 税税平安说个税
  12. 09 规划美好生活的小目标动态变化过程
  13. 10 公平与算计
  14. 11 席位数量可以公平分配吗?
  15. 12 成果评优的“公平度”选取
  16. 13 权力也可以计算!
  17. 14 唯有积分不可辜负
  18. 15 为什么总是觉得想找的东西找不着了?
  19. 16 以理服人的赌局中断赌注合理分配方案
  20. 17 幻想和坚持
  21. 18 积流成海
  22. 19 学生借贷遇陷阱
  23. 20 数学可以帮助我们择偶吗?
  24. 参考文献

FAQ

Can I understand this book without a high school mathematics background?
Yes. The book unfolds through illustrations and informal essays, focusing on how problems arise and how thinking proceeds rather than on formula derivation. Readers need only basic arithmetic and common-sense reasoning to follow most cases. For the occasional passage involving probability or statistics, slowing down and reading it twice is enough.
How is this book different from common popular mathematics books?
Its topics are closely tied to the everyday experience of Chinese readers—store coupons, student loans, delegate seat allocation, and so on—giving it a strong sense of real-life context. In style, it uses short essays with diagrams; it does not aim for a complete knowledge system but lets each case stand alone, reading more like a notebook of observations on life.
Can the cases in the book be used directly in classroom teaching?
They can serve as classroom introductions or discussion material. Each case reconstructs how a problem arises, so teachers can first use the scenario to spark students' interest, then guide them to propose their own solutions, and finally compare with the book's analysis. It is advisable to simplify cases or substitute data according to students' age.
What practical help can I get from reading this book?
The most direct help is developing a habit of scrutiny when facing medical reports, promotional campaigns, loan contracts, and lottery rules, and being able to spot common numerical traps. More deeply, it lets one appreciate that mathematics is a way of looking at life, not just a school subject.

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About the author

刘迎湖 Author

Liu Yinghu is an author about whom limited public information is available. The only work currently confirmed is Life Mathematics, which is commonly classified under education. Judging from the title and category, the book seeks to connect mathematical knowledge with scenes from everyday life, and is presumably intended for readers who wish to understand mathematics through daily experience or to learn it with the help of real-life examples. The available records provide no further information about the author's specific role, background, or writing history in this field, so little can be inferred beyond this. Based on the existing material, Liu Yinghu's approach appears to lean toward popularization and application, emphasizing that mathematics is not an abstract body of symbols remote from life but knowledge that can be observed, understood, and used in everyday situations. Works of this kind generally help lower the psychological barrier for general readers approaching mathematics and can also offer educators teaching ideas that connect the subject with life. Because public information about the author is limited, a complete picture of their overall body of work, other writings, and personal experience is difficult to present at this time; readers may gain a fuller sense of their style and concerns through the specific content of Life Mathematics.

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