Proof
The Art and Science of Certainty
Contributors
Also available from:
- On Sale
- May 6, 2025
- Page Count
- 368 pages
- Publisher
- Basic Books
- ISBN-13
- 9781541606708
How do we establish what we believe? And how can we be certain that what we believe is true? And how do we convince other people that it is true? For thousands of years, from the ancient Greeks to the Arabic golden age to the modern world, science has used different methods—logical, empirical, intuitive, and more—to separate fact from fiction. But it all had the same goal: find perfect evidence and be rewarded with universal truth.
As mathematician Adam Kucharski shows, however, there is far more to proof than axioms, theories, and laws: when demonstrating that a new medical treatment works, persuading a jury of someone’s guilt, or deciding whether you trust a self-driving car, the weighing up of evidence is far from simple. To discover proof, we must reach into a thicket of errors and biases and embrace uncertainty—and never more so than when existing methods fail.
Spanning mathematics, science, politics, philosophy, and economics, this book offers the ultimate exploration of how we can find our way to proof—and, just as importantly, of how to go forward when supposed facts falter.
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"A vivid, intelligent and wide-ranging book about how we know what we know. Adam Kucharski is a brilliant and entertaining guide."Tim Harford, author of How To Make The World Add Up
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“Adam Kucharski is that rarest of beasts: a true mathematical expert who can also write beautiful accessible, human prose. Proof is a profound and utterly absorbing exploration of the limits and power of proof and truth, both in mathematics, logic, and the quest for certainty that we find ourselves on, whether we’re running the country of trying to decide on what to do with a medical test result. Kucharski elegantly explores how proof is not just a mathematical concept but a vital tool in decision-making, justice, and survival—it’s brilliant.”Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra Processed People
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$25.99 CADFormat
Format:
- ebook $19.99 $25.99 CAD
- Hardcover $32.00 $42.00 CAD
- Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $27.99
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