Customer Reviews

The Ten Things All Future Mathematicians and Scientists Must Know (But are Rarely Taught)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I teach a grade 5/6 enrichment program and am always looking for unique, stimulating material. I have already written a fan letter to Mr. Zacarro about his Challenge Math book. It is amazing. Every teacher should have a copy. I didn't hesitate to buy The 10 Things All Future Mathematicians and Scientists Must Know: But Are Rarely Taught and was again amazed. It is so good! Each chapter is a different "truth" about what math and science give us and the examples and stories used are interesting, poignant and relevant. My kids love it and I hear them applying what they learn from this book to current events and problem solving. It will realy make them think. If you teach math or science to kids in grades 6 and up, you will be giving them a great gift by using this book in your classroom! You may find yourself taking it home to read yourself at night too!

What a great book! Amusing, intriguing, entertaining and with lessons that everybody can benefit from. Terrific examples of the errors that have been made and will continue to be made by both the "wise" and the ignorant. Many of the examples are from medical areas I am familiar with and are completely accurate. Although the text with its cartoon figures is targeted at young people their olders (if not their betters!) can learn a lot from it - and those who think they won't may be most at risk of repeating the errors. I have not had the chance to see how young people like this book but based on the other review it sounds good. A great present for young people with inquirying minds and their adult relatives!

This book is quite handy, though a bit depressing if you think about it. There are 10 themes, each with 4 or 5 examples. The last 3 pages of the theme include Zaccaro's traditional math problems, including Level 1, Level 2, and and Einstein level. Each example includes about 3 questions for discussion, most of which are thoughtful and interesting.

If you're looking for a math workbook, this isn't it. If you're looking for some interesting reading, thoughtful questions, and a bit of math, this book is it.

I find, however, that to make the examples meaningful to my 4th and 5th grade students, I'm pulling in internet images and video clips to supplement. I'm also being selective about which examples I share, trying to use those that are most interesting and relevant to them.

This book is more of a tool/resource/guide. It's definitely not a math practice.

Ed Zaccaro first came to the attention of the gifted community with Challenge Math, an instant hit. Ten Things All Future Mathematicians and Scientists Must Know (But are Rarely Taught) is another great hit, bringing Ed to a Grand Slam in math! Every math student, from the upper elementary to the high school, and even adults, will enjoy and appreciate Ten Things...

Do you know them all?

I ordered this terrific book for my 12 year old daughter who is an absolute math & science fiend (she reads science books for the fun of it) and flipped through it when it arrived to check it out. Well, I quickly became engrossed in the stories and the lessons inherent within the stories and immediately started noticing things within my environment which had been pointed out in the book. This book is amazing and should be read by everyone; not just aspiring mathematicians and scientists. All existing and future managers need to read it in order to realize that what they want is sometime vastly different from what is possible or even safe.

Zaccaro even includes several discussion questions at the end of each chapter which makes this book ideal for the classroom. I will be sharing this title with my daughter's math & science teachers from now on because I believe this book to be extremely important to our children's education.

This book is not written in an overly serious manner and some readers might be put off by the cartoon Albert Einstein and assorted mice that add commentary throughout the sections, but the underlying mathematical and scientific principles are indeed important for all students to understand.

My sister (an ex-NASA engineer) recommended this book for my fairly advanced 8th grade son, but I was a little put off because at first glance it seemed that this book was way below his level. Interestingly enough, I was hooked after the first few sections and ended up reading all of the way through in one sitting. It refreshed some science and math facts I had long forgotten (like how to calculate the size of the Earth) and actually taught me some historical things I didn't know.

Students will also benefit from the questions asked at the end of each section and the answers are in the back of the book.

This is a surprisingly enjoyable and informative book that really should be on any future science and math oriented student's reading list. Adults will also likely enjoy it, especially Chapter 7 which covers lying with statistics.

Recommended!

CFH

Well, I'm feeling a little critical, as I was expecting something that was more advanced. This book is written at a basic grade 9 level. Entertaining, for sure. And I am sure there is a niche audience who will find it useful, mostly those adults who didn't go far in school and who want to understand the tricks played in the lay press to promote a product. It might open a teenager's eyes to critical thinking. But if you finished high school you may be little disappointed. Any scientist will have learned these lessons a thousand times over....

This book is extremely simplistic and written in a cartoon style. The author's liberal bias is not only evident, it's the purpose of the book. The intended audience is young, naive teachers with a very weak or no background in math or science and with no background in economics, i.e. gullible neophytes who can be conned into believing anything by someone with just a bit more knowledge. From that starting point, the author plays on the reader's emotions to "teach" false economics and encourage readers to think along politically correct lines and buy into left wing agendas. The book is filled with so much politically correct nonsense and economic fallacies that any usefullness is lost. The books primary intent is not to make mathematicians and scientists critical thinkers. Rather, it's to encourage mathematicians and scientists to place multiculturalism and other goals of the far left as central in their pursuits.