It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
Four Ways of Thinking

Four Ways of Thinking

Statistical, Interactive, Chaotic and Complex

Summary

'Packed with practical examples and insightful wisdom. . . A highly enjoyable and effective guide to better thinking' Sabine Hossenfelder

'I wish David Sumpter had been my maths teacher. I hated the subject at school. I hoover up his books now' Sunday Times

Acclaimed mathematician David Sumpter shows how we can deal with the chaos and complexity of our lives


What is the best way to think about the world? How often do we consider how our own thinking might impact the way we approach our daily decisions? Could it help or hinder our relationships, our careers, or even our health?

Thinking about thinking is something we rarely do, yet it is something science questions all the time. David Sumpter has spent decades studying what we could all learn from the mindsets of scientists, and Four Ways of Thinking is the result. Here he reveals the four easily applied approaches to our problems: statistical, interactive, chaotic and complex.

Combining engaging personal experience with practical advice and inspiring tales of ground-breaking scientific pioneers (with a tiny bit of number crunching along the way), Sumpter explains how these tried and tested methods can help us with every conundrum, from how to bicker less with our partners to pitching to a tough crowd - and in doing so change our lives.

Reviews

  • I wish David Sumpter had been my maths teacher. I hated the subject at school. I hoover up his books now. . . He unpicks four big 20th-century ideas, all related to mathematical modelling of real-world behaviour. His particular genius is to apply these ways of thinking to relatable situations
    James McConnachie, The Sunday Times

About the author

David Sumpter

David Sumpter is Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. He is the author of the international bestseller The Ten Equations that Rule the World as well as Soccermatics and Outnumbered which have been translated into ten languages. He has worked with a number of the world's biggest football clubs, advising on analytics.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more