Mathletics: A Scientist Explains 100 Amazing Things about the World of Sports

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.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 06/18/2012
ISBN: 9780393063417
Pages: 320
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.60w x 1.30d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 04/16/2012 pg. 56
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2012
Booklist 06/01/2012 pg. 15
Discover 09/01/2012 pg. 21