![Conned Again, Watson: Cautionary Tales Of Logic, Math, And Probability by [Bruce, Colin]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41zlma1sfzL._SY346_.jpg)
I like this book. I find the writing both entertaining and informative. A few years ago, when it seemed that the book was going out of print, I managed to create a small stash of these so that I can give them as gifts to people who I believe would enjoy reading it.
This being said, I read all the negative reviews, and I must say with all honesty that the criticisms leveled at the book are legitimate. If you are expecting a book of Sherlock Holmes detective stories of the original Conan Doyle's kind, you will be disappointed. In fact, this is not at all a book of detective stories and mysteries. Also, if you are an expert in mathematics, you will find most of the discussion rather shallow and unnecessarily protracted.
However, if you understand well what this book isn't, there is no reason why you shouldn't enjoy the book for what it is.
In this book Colin Bruce offers a nice mix of tidbits from mathematics, probability, and game theory, all presented in a belletrized form. The Sherlockian atmosphere is meant just as an entertaining backdrop. The first chapter is, I think, well written, but does not offer much substance. There are a lot more interesting bits and pieces spread throughout the rest of the book.
The book is not perfect, and there are some things that I found irritating. Chapters 5 and 6 seem to be unnecessarily drawn out, with an excessively long and insipid background story. In Chapter 3, Watson says: "1 January 1900. We had entered the twentieth century!" He makes a similar remark earlier in Chapter 2. Yet, in both cases, Holmes doesn't catch on to say that actually, the twentieth century does not start until January 1, 1901.
The stories in the book are meant to be happening around the year 1900. In this setting, a bunch of "historical" figures make an appearance: Lewis Carrol, Karl Marx, Lenin... But in reality, in 1900 both Karl Marx and Lewis Carrol had been dead for some time. He also plays loose with the history of aviation and technology in general. So, while the author aims to clear some confusion about matters of logic, probability and statistics, he confuses the reader with historical inaccuracies. And, as it becomes clear in the afterword, deliberately so. Also, I find distasteful the way he describes Lewis Carrol.
Overall, however, I find the book utterly enjoyable, and I hope that other people will like it too. Each chapter is a small self-contained story and there is no unifying plot line, so you can possibly read the book from any place, without losing anything of the story.
- File Size: 3194 KB
- Print Length: 304 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (August 1, 2008)
- Publication Date: August 1, 2008
- Language: English
- ASIN: B001EHDNF2
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
- Word Wise: Not Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,397,573 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #588 in Mystery & Detective Literary Criticism
- #230 in Mystery Literary Criticism
- #177 in Mathematics Recreation & Games
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