This book has been a long time in the making. I first contemplated writing it several years ago, yet it took a coffee with Wendy Jones to finally push me into action, and I’d like to thank her for being a great sounding board in the early stages.
My thanks to Hugh Hunt and John Haigh with whom I regularly have back-of-envelope jousts and who inspired a couple of the examples in the book. Graham Cannings, Chris Healey, Chas Bullock and Andrew Robinson provided invaluable critiques of the first draft, while Rose Davidson, Geoff Eastaway, Pete Sanders and Rachel Reeves provided equally helpful comments on the second. Special thanks to my mentor Dennis Sherwood for helping me to see the big picture and for sharing your deep insights on precision and the abuse of statistics.
I was lucky to be able to tap into some valuable expertise when I needed it, particularly from Claire Milne, Aoife Hunt, Jay Nagley and Ian Sweetenham, and also from Tom Rainbow and Catherine van Saarloos who are doing great work promoting Core Maths in schools.
My wonderful wife Elaine has been ever-present and ever-patient when I’ve sought advice on everything from grammar to subtitles.
Thank you Timandra Harkness for reminding me about the cats.
And finally, thanks to the team at HarperCollins, in particular Ed Faulkner who so enthusiastically picked up on this book, and to my lovely editor Holly Blood, who has so professionally filled the dual role of constructive critic and supportive cheerleader.