Koncocoo

Best Probability & Statistics

Freakonomics Rev Ed: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and—if the right questions are asked—is even more intriguing than we think. Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.Bonus material added to the revised and expanded 2006 edition.The original New York Times Magazine article about Steven D. Levitt by Stephen J. Dubner, which led to the creation of this book.Seven “Freakonomics” columns written for the New York Times Magazine, published between August 2005 and April 2006. “Levitt dissects complex real-world phenomena, e.g. baby-naming patterns and Sumo wrestling, with an economist’s laser.” (San Diego Union-Tribune). This is bracing fun of the highest order.” (Kurt Andersen, host of public radio's Studio 360 and author of Turn of the Century). “Freakonomics challenges conventional wisdom and makes for fun reading.” (Book Sense Picks and Notables). Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, given to the most influential American economist under forty. Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning journalist and radio and TV personality, has worked for the New York Times and published three non- Freakonomics books.
Reviews
"Indeed, the most common reaction I get from people when telling them that I am an economist is that they have read Freakonomics, which implies that they have at least seen some work similar to what I do at aguanomics. All I remember was a lot of math and curves.” This depressing outcome results from lecturers who merely reproduce problems and equations on the blackboard, without helping students understand either why those theories are used or how they came to be so popular with economists. Third, there are books like mine [pdf] that try to explain how to improve failing policies using basic economic insights and incentives. This book with a memorable (but useless) name provides readers with just-so stories that are good for cocktail conversations but not for understanding economics. What struck me is their ongoing attempts to hold onto at least some elements in the original claim in later blog posts in what I’d call a “my-ladydoth-protest-too-much” manner. Looking over their other chapters (on cheating sumo wrestlers, drug dealers who live with their moms, the KKK as a multilevel marketing organization, etc. ), I agree that the chapters are interesting and thought provoking, but they do not provide “lessons on the hidden side of everything.” Instead, they read like a series of magazine articles whose quirky “insights” might contribute to your next cocktail conversation. [7] I didn’t detect any reliable technique (except perhaps to collect a neat dataset and call Steve Levitt), and that’s where I was disappointed. In this case, street dealers are (a) NOT condemned to death, (b) not able to find other work with their experience, and (c) not aware of their statistical mortality as much as their potential wealth. Dubner and Levitt present interesting puzzles worthy of cocktail conversation, but they overstate their contributions and accuracy (“numbers don’t lie” but theory can be incomplete or just wrong). He's a fine person and excellent economist, but this book is too “pop” in its oversimplification of his work and hagiographic treatment of his insights. Yes, he brings interesting statistical tools to“freaky” questions, but he’s not a “rogue economist exploring the hidden side of everything.” He’s just a guy with a dataset and empirical theory who finds some strong correlations. (8) My years of experience traveling in 100+ countries leads me to respect the diversity of beliefs and institutions that result in a variety of outcomes. As another example, take Dubner on page 199, who writes “that paper [on police officer counts and crime] was later disputed… a gradate student found an obvious mathematical mistake in it — but Levitt’s ingenuity was obvious.” I’m not sure I’d say the same about someone whose claims rested on logic with “obvious mathematical mistakes”!"
"I enjoyed the many hidden causal connections that no one without the proper research could ever have put together."
"This book is absolutely brilliant."
"You may or may not agree with everything in here, but that is not the point."
"I thought this book was both thought provoking and interesting."
"Really a great book."
"Here's my verdict: if you want a fun, engaging read, and have a lot of time, don't read non-fiction a lot, etc., this would be a lot of fun."
"Only gripe I have with this particular edition (really of no fault to the book or its authors) is that I thought it was much longer (311 pages) than the actual book (192 pages) is."
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A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)
The companion book to COURSERA®'s wildly popular massive open online course "Learning How to Learn" Whether you are a student struggling to fulfill a math or science requirement, or you are embarking on a career change that requires a new skill set, A Mind for Numbers offers the tools you need to get a better grasp of that intimidating material. When she saw how her lack of mathematical and technical savvy severely limited her options—both to rise in the military and to explore other careers—she returned to school with a newfound determination to re-tool her brain to master the very subjects that had given her so much trouble throughout her entire life. How do you come to love math and science, and how do you come to learn math and science? Barbara Oakley is the magician who will help you do both.” —Francisco J. Ayala, University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, and former President and Chairman of the Board, American Association for the Advancement of Science. But now that learners have a handy guide for ‘knowing better’ they will also be able to ‘do better.’” —Shirley Malcom, Head of Education and Human Resources Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science “ A Mind for Numbers is an excellent book about how to approach mathematics, science, or any realm where problem solving plays a prominent role.” —J. Given the urgent need for America to improve its science and math education so it can stay competitive, A Mind for Numbers is a welcome find.” —Geoffrey Canada, President, Harlem Children's Zone "It's easy to say 'work smarter, not harder,' but Barbara Oakley actually shows you how to do just that, in a fast-paced and accessible book that collects tips based on experience and sound science. —Glenn Harlan Reynolds, Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law, The University of Tennessee “ A Mind for Numbers is a splendid resource for how to approach mathematics learning and in fact learning in any area. This is a must-read for anyone who has struggled with mathematics and anyone interested in enhancing their learning experience.” —David C. Geary, Curators’ Professor of Psychological Sciences and Interdisciplinary Neuroscience, University o f Missouri. “For students afraid of math and science and for those who love the subjects, this engaging book provides guidance in establishing study habits that take advantage of how the brain works.” —Deborah Schifter, Principal Research Scientist, Science and Mathematics Programs, Education Development Center, Inc.
Reviews
"Dr. Oakley does a masterful job in introducing the science of learning to readers in a way that is very engaging, practical, infectious and liberating."
"This book is one I would recommend teachers,parents, and students to read."
"Using colorful descriptions, humorous illustrations, and personal testimonies she successfully manages to present the complexities of the brain and the dynamics of learning in an easy-to-read manual for students, teachers, and education enthusiasts alike."
"Well written, easy to read, informative."
"And it has given me hope that I can succeed in a subject which I failed so miserably at before."
"If you enjoy learning new material as a challenge, or if you are a student who needs to be able to master and even enjoy solving difficult problems, this book is for you."
"I really enjoyed this book."
"Excellent companion to the MOOC course I took on Coursera."
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The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't
One of Wall Street Journal 's. Best Ten Works of Nonfiction in 2012 New York Times Bestseller “Not so different in spirit from the way public intellectuals like John Kenneth Galbraith once shaped discussions of economic policy and public figures like Walter Cronkite helped sway opinion on the Vietnam War…could turn out to be one of the more momentous books of the decade .”. — New York Times Book Review "Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise is The Soul of a New Machine for the 21st century ." Drawing on his own groundbreaking work, Silver examines the world of prediction, investigating how we can distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data. Most predictions fail, often at great cost to society, because most of us have a poor understanding of probability and uncertainty. In keeping with his own aim to seek truth from data, Silver visits the most successful forecasters in a range of areas, from hurricanes to baseball, from the poker table to the stock market, from Capitol Hill to the NBA. With everything from the health of the global economy to our ability to fight terrorism dependent on the quality of our predictions, Nate Silver’s insights are an essential read. Baseball, weather forecasting, earthquake prediction, economics, and polling: In all of these areas, Silver finds predictions gone bad thanks to biases, vested interests, and overconfidence.
Reviews
"Longer review: I'm an applied business researcher and that means my job is to deliver quality forecasts: to make them, persuade people of them, and live by the results they bring. But we're not very good at it, and fall prey to cognitive biases and other systemic problems such as information overload that make things worse. However, we are simultaneously learning more about how such things occur and that knowledge can be used to make predictions better -- and to improve our models in science, politics, business, medicine, and so many other areas. For example, on p. 162: "What happens in systems with noisy data and underdeveloped theory - like earthquake prediction and parts of economic and political science - is a two-step process. Second, this noise pollutes journals, blogs, and news accounts with false alarms, undermining good science and setting back our ability to understand how the system really works." Of course this makes the book fascinating to generalists, geeks, and breadth thinkers, but perhaps more importantly, I think it serves well to develop reusable intuition across domains. The third non-fitting audience will be experts who desire depth in one of the book's many topic areas; it's not a technical treatise for them and I can confidently predict grumbling in some quarters."
"The anecdotes and exposition are fantastic, and I wish we could make this book required reading for, say, everyone in the country. This kind of pundit chatter, as Silver notes, tends to be insanely inaccurate. Weather prediction has gotten lots better over the last fifty years, due to highly sophisticated, large-scale supercomputer modeling. Nate Silver made a living playing online poker for a few years. When the government tightened the rules, the less savvy players ("fish") stopped playing, and he found he couldn't make money any more. Rational employees may have less career risk when they "bet with the consensus" than when they buck a trend: this may increase herding effects and makes bubbles worse. Note: Nate pointedly does not claim that one can make money on Intrade by betting based on FiveThirtyEight probabilities. But he stresses that Intrade prices are themselves probably heavily informed by poll-based models like the ones on FiveThirtyEight. Climate prediction: prima facie case for anthropic warming is very strong (greenhouse gas up, temperature up, good theoretical reason for former causing latter). But lots of good reason to doubt accuracy of specific elaborate computer models, and most scientists admit uncertainty about details."
"I do not teach statistics for a living, but I was able to follow Nate Silver's hypotheses, explanations, and formulas; his reasoning was clear."
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Best Mathematical Analysis

Doing Bayesian Data Analysis: A Tutorial with R, JAGS, and Stan
Included are step-by-step instructions on how to carry out Bayesian data analyses in the popular and free software R and WinBugs, as well as new programs in JAGS and Stan. Accessible, including the basics of essential concepts of probability and random sampling Examples with R programming language and JAGS software Comprehensive coverage of all scenarios addressed by non-Bayesian textbooks: t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and comparisons in ANOVA, multiple regression, and chi-square (contingency table analysis) Coverage of experiment planning R and JAGS computer programming code on website Exercises have explicit purposes and guidelines for accomplishment Provides step-by-step instructions on how to conduct Bayesian data analyses in the popular and free software R and WinBugs. "Both textbook and practical guide, this work is an accessible account of Bayesian data analysis starting from the basics…This edition is truly an expanded work and includes all new programs in JAGS and Stan designed to be easier to use than the scripts of the first edition, including when running the programs on your own data sets." “has the potential to change the way most cognitive scientists and experimental psychologists approach the planning and analysis of their experiments" Prof. Geoffrey Iverson, U. of Cal., Irvine; past pres. The book begins with the basics, including essential concepts of probability and random sampling, and gradually progresses to advanced hierarchical modeling methods for realistic data. It provides a bridge between undergraduate training and modern Bayesian methods for data analysis, which is becoming the accepted research standard.
Reviews
"Probably the best (most reachable) book on the topic."
"This book is fantastic and has the potential to revolutionize science, particularly psychological science."
"That has lead me to read 5-10 different books on the subject (with a range of scopes and focuses), which lead me to read the first edition of this book. Some of the books that I read are better than others, but I can easily say that Kruschke's was the best introductory book I found. In addition, the book gives you TONS of useful programming help in R, all in downloadable files."
"My son loves this book....."
"It's better than anything you'll find online, and quite a bit clearer than most "intro to stats" type books that introduce Bayes' Theorem and haphazardly try to show you how to do something useful with it."
"Takes a complex subject and explains it in well organized chapters to anyone with a basic understanding of statistics."
"Too wordy that convey important Bayesian concept less effective."
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Best Computer Mathematics

Differential Equations with Mathematica
The text covers topics on differential equations such as first-order ordinary differential equations, higher order differential equations, power series solutions of ordinary differential equations, the Laplace Transform, systems of ordinary differential equations, and Fourier Series and applications to partial differential equations. I am tempted to make this. the sole, required text for that course". March 2003 Integrates new applications from a variety of fields, especially biology, physics, and engineering, and is a perfect introduction for Mathematica beginners.
Reviews
"If you're taking a course in ODEs and your primary text doesn't have some kind of Mathematica supplement, then this book might help you learn to solve differential equations with Mathematica."
"In Chap 2, for instance, I have found a couple of places were the examples using Mathematica and those worked out on paper do not follow each other."
"If you're interested in differential equations and numerical calculations using Mathematica this book offers a good guide through the main different topics of these kind of problems."
"Abell and Braselton strike a nice balance between the analytical solution of differential equations by hand, and numerical solution by computer."
"No outdated firmware, great battery life, works in hot and cold environments."
"What a great book!"
"This book explains differential equations in a mathematical context rather than simply a "plug and chug" approach."
"Unless you are a complete novice in the field of differential equations, don't buy this book!"
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Best Vector Analysis

Vector Calculus
The new edition offers a contemporary design, an increased number of practice exercises, and content changes based on reviewer feedback, giving this classic text a modern appeal. Marsden, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
Reviews
"I use Geogebras 3D graphing calculator on my phone to visualize some of the concepts so lab keys or octave/matlab have been entirely unnecessary."
"The book is really helpful."
"Later when the book talks about limits, differentiation, and integration, the definitions and theorems become almost impossible to interpret without getting a concept wrong."
"RECEIVED THE BOOK IN EXCELLENT CONDITION; SO FAR THE BOOK MEETS MY EXPECTATIONS AND I EXPECT IT TO CONTINUE!"
"Very difficult to understand."
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Best Differential Equations

Freakonomics Rev Ed: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and—if the right questions are asked—is even more intriguing than we think. Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.Bonus material added to the revised and expanded 2006 edition.The original New York Times Magazine article about Steven D. Levitt by Stephen J. Dubner, which led to the creation of this book.Seven “Freakonomics” columns written for the New York Times Magazine, published between August 2005 and April 2006. “Levitt dissects complex real-world phenomena, e.g. baby-naming patterns and Sumo wrestling, with an economist’s laser.” (San Diego Union-Tribune). This is bracing fun of the highest order.” (Kurt Andersen, host of public radio's Studio 360 and author of Turn of the Century). “Freakonomics challenges conventional wisdom and makes for fun reading.” (Book Sense Picks and Notables). Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, given to the most influential American economist under forty. Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning journalist and radio and TV personality, has worked for the New York Times and published three non- Freakonomics books.
Reviews
"Indeed, the most common reaction I get from people when telling them that I am an economist is that they have read Freakonomics, which implies that they have at least seen some work similar to what I do at aguanomics. All I remember was a lot of math and curves.” This depressing outcome results from lecturers who merely reproduce problems and equations on the blackboard, without helping students understand either why those theories are used or how they came to be so popular with economists. Third, there are books like mine [pdf] that try to explain how to improve failing policies using basic economic insights and incentives. This book with a memorable (but useless) name provides readers with just-so stories that are good for cocktail conversations but not for understanding economics. What struck me is their ongoing attempts to hold onto at least some elements in the original claim in later blog posts in what I’d call a “my-ladydoth-protest-too-much” manner. Looking over their other chapters (on cheating sumo wrestlers, drug dealers who live with their moms, the KKK as a multilevel marketing organization, etc. ), I agree that the chapters are interesting and thought provoking, but they do not provide “lessons on the hidden side of everything.” Instead, they read like a series of magazine articles whose quirky “insights” might contribute to your next cocktail conversation. [7] I didn’t detect any reliable technique (except perhaps to collect a neat dataset and call Steve Levitt), and that’s where I was disappointed. In this case, street dealers are (a) NOT condemned to death, (b) not able to find other work with their experience, and (c) not aware of their statistical mortality as much as their potential wealth. Dubner and Levitt present interesting puzzles worthy of cocktail conversation, but they overstate their contributions and accuracy (“numbers don’t lie” but theory can be incomplete or just wrong). He's a fine person and excellent economist, but this book is too “pop” in its oversimplification of his work and hagiographic treatment of his insights. Yes, he brings interesting statistical tools to“freaky” questions, but he’s not a “rogue economist exploring the hidden side of everything.” He’s just a guy with a dataset and empirical theory who finds some strong correlations. (8) My years of experience traveling in 100+ countries leads me to respect the diversity of beliefs and institutions that result in a variety of outcomes. As another example, take Dubner on page 199, who writes “that paper [on police officer counts and crime] was later disputed… a gradate student found an obvious mathematical mistake in it — but Levitt’s ingenuity was obvious.” I’m not sure I’d say the same about someone whose claims rested on logic with “obvious mathematical mistakes”!"
"LOVE THIS BOOK!"
"I enjoyed the many hidden causal connections that no one without the proper research could ever have put together."
"This book is absolutely brilliant."
"You may or may not agree with everything in here, but that is not the point."
"It takes an engaging and unique look at the world through the lens of an economist and the results are quite compelling."
"I thought this book was both thought provoking and interesting."
"Really a great book."
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Best Linear Programming

Python: Python Programming: A Complete Practical Guide For Beginners To Master Python Programming Language
If You Are New To Python Programming And Want To Start From A Solid Foundation.. 'Python Programming: A Complete Guide For Beginners To Master And Become An Expert In Python Programming Language' is a complete guide, covering all the basic concepts and takes you to the expert level with simple to understand, follow and learn examples and explanations. ------------------. Tags: Python, Python programing, Python exercise, Python reference, Python, Python course, Python book, Python Kindle, Python Beginners, learning Python, Python language, Python examples, Python tutorials, Python programming language, Python coding, Python programming for beginners, Python for Dummies, python machine learning, python beginners guide.
Reviews
"Are you searching for something good stuff for learning all the basics of python programming?"
"Python programming contain multiple benefits that we can get if we choose accurate guide book and this book is one of them."
"Like in this book very much that, as mentioned in title, it's a practical book."
"Covers benefits of the language, basic commands, statements, functions."
"This book gives a good tour of the language, in an interesting way, by working through multiple video game programs."
"I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning python."
"Python, being a programming language with a pretty much universally useful is instructed quickly yet in an extremely composed way."
"I suspect that the first three 5-star reviews are fake -- particularly as their grammar/sentence structure is extremely similar to that presented within the book. For example: "As a result, it gained the power and performance that it has within itself but in a secret nutshell come to the industry." Unfortunately, since the author apparently decided to pick and choose random sentences and paragraphs from different websites (including the tutorial information available for free from Python), the information is rarely complete and often doesn't make much sense. Neither of those examples here has complete instructions, but you can find them online for free in multiple places! 6) It was also apparently originally an eBook, and they didn't bother changing the language to reflect the print version. ON page 20, it begins with, "in this part of the eBook..." It also indicates on multiple occasions that the reader should copy and paste some of the text into Python."
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Best Graph Theory

Introduction to Graph Theory (Dover Books on Mathematics)
Aimed at "the mathematically traumatized," this text offers nontechnical coverage of graph theory, with exercises.
Reviews
"Clear, yet not because of that lacks in rigor."
"Richard J. Trudeau provides a good introduction to Graph Theory."
"just not sure where to download code snippets."
"Great book and it shipped fast.v."
"Great introduction for those who study as a mathematicians... And besides, the Dover outlines math books are really helping!!"
"Well written!"
"Some basic math understanding required but still well-written."
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Best Game Theory

A Beautiful Mind
In this powerful and dramatic biography Sylvia Nasar vividly recreates the life of a mathematical genius whose career was cut short by schizophrenia and who, after three decades of devastating mental illness, miraculously recovered and was honored with a Nobel Prize. Or the "Phantom of Fine Hall," a figure many students had seen shuffling around the corridors of the math and physics building wearing purple sneakers and writing numerology treatises on the blackboards. Born in West Virginia, the flamboyant mathematical wizard rubbed elbows at Princeton and MIT with Einstein, John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener. He compartmentalized his secret personal life, shows Nasar, hiding his homosexual affairs with colleagues from his mistress, a nurse who bore him a son out of wedlock, while he also courted Alicia Larde, an MIT physics student whom he married in 1957. Nasar, an economics correspondent for the New York Times, is equally adept at probing the puzzle of schizophrenia and giving a nontechnical context for Nash's mathematical and scientific ideas.
Reviews
"Mirroring the arc of Nash’s own life, Nassar splits the book into several parts: the first part covers Nash’s early life and mathematical blossoming; the second part elucidates his burgeoning relationships and the importance of connections to the outside world, as well as his growing star and significant mathematical contributions. The third section delves into some of the roots of his coming mental illness, both in terms of mathematical failures and turmoil within his personal life, as well as the first acute symptoms and subsequent hospitalization. The fourth part dives deeply into his downfall and plunge into mental illness, with the psychological reasoning and process behind it."
"Nasar does a good job of telling the story without bogging down in mathematical terms."
"I appreciated this book for the depth of historical perspective it offered about mathematics, John Nash's struggle with schizophrenia, and the politics involved in the Nobel prizes."
"John Nash, the heralded math genius who would be around 83 years old now, fathered a son with the same illness."
"After watching the movie, I admired Josh Nash, but I after reading this book my admiration has triple."
"I purchased this book in order to learn about John Nash, Jr.'s life. Instead I found a book that rambled on about all sorts of others, but frequently it took pages and pages to get to John Nash, Jr.'s name or anything that related to him."
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