If people are endowed with a "number instinct" similar to the "language instinct" -- as recent research suggests -- then why can't everyone do math? In The Math Gene, mathematician and popular writer Keith Devlin attacks both sides of this question. Devlin offers a breathtakingly new theory of language development that describes how language evolved in two stages and how its main purpose was not communication. Devlin goes on to show that the ability to think mathematically arose out of the same symbol-manipulating ability that was so crucial to the very first emergence of true language. Why, then, can't we do math as well as we speak? The answer, says Devlin, is that we can and do -- we just don't recognize when we're using mathematical reasoning.

A groundbreaking book about math and language, from the well-known NPR commentator Keith Devlin.

In The Maths Gene, Keith Devlin explains how the human mind came to perform mathematical reasoning. He claims the answer lies in our genes, and reveals why some people feel they can't do maths, while a select few excel.

Math is Everywhere has 365 math activities you can do with your kids, right now! You could watch bugs, listen to music, or ride a bike. You’ll find ideas to entertain with math while waiting for a dentist appointment! You can make flubber or a real dirt cake that you can eat! You will not find any worksheets or artificial word problems, but your child probably will want to create some, so beware! You won’t need to buy a thing, unless it’s the groceries you and your child will use to make dinner. Math is Everywhere is a book for anyone who wants to answer the question, “When am I ever going to use this math?”

The Gene Book: Explorations in the Code of Life is designed to introduce undergraduate college students to foundational concepts in genetics. The text provides in-depth coverage of the essential principles of genetics, from Mendel to molecular gene therapy, and reads like a story, guiding readers through each of these areas in an interesting, engaging, and enlightening way. Milestone scientific discoveries introduce conceptual topics in each of the 10 chapters. The significance of each genetics paradigm is reinforced by the meaningful research context in which it is placed, whether the focus is single gene inheritance of disorders such as PKU and cystic fibrosis, or more complex genetic phenomena. Chromosomes, cell division, and cytogenetic disorders, including Down Syndrome and leukemia, are presented in a riveting historical context. In addition, the principles of molecular genetics are a major focus of this book. Students learn about the double helix, DNA replication, gene expression, mutation, natural selection, genomics, and the tools of molecular DNA analysis. Approachable and effective, The Gene Book is a highly readable comprehensive text on genetics principles designed to highlight essential concepts that make up their very core. The text is well suited to undergraduate genetics courses and can also be used as a primer for more advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in medical or molecular genetics.

This illuminating history explores the complex relationship between mathematics, religious belief, and Victorian culture. Throughout history, application rather than abstraction has been the prominent driving force in mathematics. From the compass and sextant to partial differential equations, mathematical advances were spurred by the desire for better navigation tools, weaponry, and construction methods. But the religious upheaval in Victorian England and the fledgling United States opened the way for the rediscovery of pure mathematics, a tradition rooted in Ancient Greece. In Equations from God, Daniel J. Cohen captures the origins of the rebirth of abstract mathematics in the intellectual quest to rise above common existence and touch the mind of the deity. Using an array of published and private sources, Cohen shows how philosophers and mathematicians seized upon the beautiful simplicity inherent in mathematical laws to reconnect with the divine and traces the route by which the divinely inspired mathematics of the Victorian era begot later secular philosophies.