- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.; New edition edition (8 Aug 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0393323722
- ISBN-13: 978-0393323726
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 2 x 21.1 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,323,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
From the impossibility of a perfectly democratic vote to a clarifying model for affirmative action debates, constitutional law professor and math enthusiast Michael Meyerson "provides an engaging and unusual perspective on the no-man's land between mathematics and the law" (John Allen Paulos). In thoroughly accessible and entertaining terms, Meyerson shows how the principle of probability influenced the outcomes of the O. J. Simpson trials; makes a convincing case for the mathematical virtues of the electoral college; uses game theory to explain the federal government's shifting balance of power; relates the concept of infinity to the heated abortion debate; and uses topology and chaos theory to explain how our Constitution has successfully survived social and political change.
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First Sentence
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but ugliness is sometimes indisputable. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but ugliness is sometimes indisputable. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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4 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Great Book
30 Aug 2002
Format:Hardcover
I found myself talking about mathematical concepts and social issues with my mother after reading this book. It was so accessible and well-written that she and I had a great conversation about the concept of "infinity" and the abortion debate. Go figure. The book is creatively conceived, engaging, and passionately even-handed. Its a must read for anyone wanting an enlightening overview of our system of government, brought to life and made real by using some of the great historical and current social debates as a framework. Hard to describe. You must read it to understand. Great book.
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Rather obvious
14 July 2003
Format:Paperback
Meyerson tries in this book to bring some of the ideas of mathematics into the law. Not just many, but most, legal issues would benefit from this infusion (some simple probabilistic reasoning would bring clarity to a lot of shrill debates, especially those surrounding malpractice insurance and the medical field), but he doesn't seem up to the task. His grasp of the mathematics is competent, but his comparisons to policy don't really use the mathematics at his disposal. I'm thinking in particular of his chapter on topology and his chapter on Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries. In the former case, he makes some obvious comments about "stretching and adapting" the constitution while maintaining its initial structure. True, this is part of what topology is about, but to bring it up hardly illustrates anything novel about the constitution. In the latter case, his only political conclusions are that we need to recognize the fallibility of initial axioms. In both of these cases, he hasn't really showed us what is mathematical about politics but that mathematics and politics both share broad characteristics such as a concern with change, conflict, clear reasoning, etc. But this can be said about almost every academic discpline. I think that any bright HS student could throw together some similarly superficial comparisons between biology and politics or physics and politics or sports and politics.
Of course, I very much enjoyed his chapter on self-referential problems with the constitution, because I thought it was funny and interesting. However, the interesting part was not the application of mathematics in politics but the discussion of odd situations that can arise in politics. (He correctly argues that Godel's result yields no substantial conclusions for politics. Then why talk about it in a book on politics? Its only value is as a metaphor, and a weak one at that.)
On a side note, I know this isn't a forum, but the pedant in me must correct the previous reviewer. If we define a function, f(x)=(x^2-1)/(x-1), then f(x) is defined only when x is not equal to 1. In that case f(1) is undefined (because f(1)=0/0), and it makes no sense to cancel the common factors (x-1). Or to put it another way, this cancellation is only valid when x is not equal to 1. Otherwise, we would be cancelling a factor zero from the numerator and denominator (and no number except 0 has 0 as a factor). To put it yet another way, suppose we want to say that f(x) is equivalent to (x+1), as the previous reviewer does. If we do this, we must remember that we reached this result only by assuming we could cancel (x-1) from the numerator and denominator. Again this cancellation is only valid when x is not 1. Therefore, f(x)=(x+1) only when x is not equal to 1. Sorry, but I couldn't stand the thought of someone out there being misled on this point.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Approachable, engaging and enlightening
14 Nov 2005
Format:Paperback
It's a great way for even a non-math person to understand how math really does underpin most of reality, including our political system. The book is difficult to describe without reading it, but is a great read for anyone interested in politics or even history. The author's extensive use of historical documentation and quotations is also extremely cool--clearly a ton of research went into this book.
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