Is there science writers who have written on mathematics without holding a ph.d in the subject? I am aware that Robert Kanigle is one such but does there exist any other?
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1Martin Gardner. – bof Nov 13 '14 at 07:21
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1Most science journalists who write about mathematics (as opposed to mathematicians) do not have a Ph.D in mathematics. – Robert Israel Nov 13 '14 at 07:23
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John Derbyshire and Simon Signh, the latter however with a PhD in particle physics. – Daniel R Nov 13 '14 at 07:34
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Related: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/44244/what-recent-discoveries-have-amateur-mathematicians-made and http://mathoverflow.net/questions/132413/famous-papers-results-by-non-professional-mathematicians – Seirios Nov 13 '14 at 08:25
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This isn't a [tag:soft-question], but I don't know what the correct tag is. – MJD Nov 13 '14 at 10:52
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William Poundstone has written some excellent books addressing mathematical topics. One is called "Gaming the Vote," which addresses Arrow's Theorem and its implications for voting. (Ken Arrow won the 1972 Nobel in Economics for his theorem and his work in social choice.) Another is "Prisoner's Dilemma" which addresses Game Theory.
John Derbyshire has written a book about the Riemann Hypothesis called "Prime Obsession," which is a heroic attempt to explain the topic to amateurs. He has also written "Unknown Quantity," about the history of algebra.
Ron Gordon
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Nate Silver who wrote "The Signal and the Noise" holds a BA in Economics,
The book describes methods of mathematical model-building using probability and statistics. Silver takes a big-picture approach to using statistical tools, combining sources of unique data (e.g., timing a minor league ball player's fastball using a radar gun), with historical data and principles of sound statistical analysis; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Silver
Peter L. Bernestein who wrote "Against The Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk" also graduated in Economics,
In 1998, it was awarded the Clarence Arthur Kulp/Elizur Wright Memorial Book Award from The American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) as an outstanding original contribution to the literature of risk and insurance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Bernstein
LuisTavares
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