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Goran Grimvall is professor emeritus of physics at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. An elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, he is the author of a number of popular physics books, including Brainteaser Physics, also published by Johns Hopkins.

• Preface1. Numbers1.1. Numerical LiteracyBabylon, Babble, and BillionPrefixesWhat Is the Point?1.2. The Power of LogarithmsOrder of MagnitudeHot Air Balloons and Renard NumbersFinding Fraud in Figures1.3. What Is Typical?The Height of an AdultSocial Competence and Personal EncountersHit by Returning Rocket1.4. EstimatesIs Anybody Out There?Sand, Sibyl, Olympic Medals, and HomeopathyCover the Earth with Paper2. Measures2.1. What Is It on a Scale?The Richter ScaleNuclear Incidents and AccidentsNatural Threats2.2. Comparing Apples and OrangesHuman Well-Being and PovertyTrack and FieldAt Scout Camp2.3. UnitsGoing Metric—Inch by InchHorsepower and ManpowerThe Loss of a Spacecraft2.4. On the RoadLeft-Hand TrafficThe Value of a LifeGasoline Here and There3. Accuracy and Significance3.1. Could You Be More Precise, Please?What Is Austria's Population?A Slim WaistMan on the Moon3.2. Significant?FlunkingA Change in OpinionError Bars3.3. Limiti ValuesWill Your iPod Make You Deaf?Lethal DoseThe Weakest Link3.4. A Fair Games?Winning by a Small MarginAccurate TimingAre All Sports Venues Equivalent?4. Extrapolations4.1. The Dangerous ExponentialThe Rule of 72A Problematic RewardSuddenly Nothing Was Left4.2. The Ubiquitous Straight LineDubious ExtrapolationsMoore's LawLow Radiation Level and Cancer4.3. ScalingBig and Small FishGulliverRoasting a Turkey4.4. Looking AheadThe Law of Diminishing ReturnsThe Sign of the Second DerivativeLynx and Hare5. Models5.1. What Are the Chances?ProofreadingLosing a LegSunday Traffic5.2. Seeking the OptimumTax Rates and the AutobahnRunning to the RescueSelecting the Best Golf Club5.3. Focus on the EssentialHow Small Can a Mouse Be?The Age of the Earth5.4. A Loud PartyOhm's Law Is Not a LawA Mad PursuitIs Coulomb's Law Exact?6. The Real World6.1. Plausible, but Not CorrectThe Unridable BicycleChurch Windows and Lead RoofsThe Bathtub Vortex6.2. You See What You Want to SeeWaves Are Rolling InGalileo Galilei's TrialSubmarines and Mink6.3. Suddenly Something HappensFishing Nets, Coffee Percolators, and the WebGoethe and the Height of TreesSupercooled Rain and Critical Mass6.4. Engineering versus ScienceSlapstickNot a Schoolbook ProblemHoisting a Sack7. Tricks of the Trade7.1. A Crash Course in Science ThinkingDinghy, Anchor, and PoolUp and Down the EscalatorThe Floating Apple7.2. Is the Formula Accurate Enough?ObesityWind Chill TemperatureThe Size of a Ship7.3. Characteristic QuantitiesHow Deep Is Deep?The Coldest Day of the YearGalileo Galilei, Basketball, and Table Tennis7.4. Impress Them!What Is Your BMI?The Aeolian HarpOne Trick and Two AreasEpilogue: Seven Principles in Scientific LiteracyNotesIndex

An excellent piece of work with lots of fascinating information inside. -- Brian Clegg Popular Science 2011 Essays are fun, involving... and will appeal to both general readers and collections from high school into college grades. Midwest Book Review 2011 Grimvall's book should appeal to and amuse a wide audience, extending from professional scientists, teachres, school kids, newspaper columnists to the...average citizen. -- Philip J. Davis SIAM News 2011 A wonderful read for everyone, emphasizing how scientists and engineers tend to think about examples from daily life that are expressed by numbers... Highly recommended. Choice 2011