Mick Norton

Random Tales of a College Math Professor, Over-easy, on Wry Mick Norton

Publisher Marketing: Many believe that math and humor must be mutually exclusive, or that the life of a college professor must be boring. Ha! Not many careers would provide opportunities for someone to solve a geometry problem (what position was the body in when the bullet went through her head?) and thereby convince police that a death was a homicide. Or to collect and analyze data to show that wrestlers at a weigh-in can make a scale register less than their true weight - temporarily - if they stand on their heads before they step on the scale. Written for a popular audience, this book presents stories about expert witnessing, consulting, teaching, being a professor, and about how probability (think random events) impacted someone's life in a very direct way. And oh yes, the humor is wry. QUESTION: WHO SHOULD BUY THE BOOK? ANSWER: There are precisely four groups. People anywhere who are interested in real-world applications of mathematics and statistics - some of them a wee bit wacky - is one. People who would give math and humor a chance to mix is a second. People who enjoy reading stories set in Charleston, South Carolina would be a third. The fourth group may be described as OTHER (and you know who you are).