Very disappointing. Geek Logik: 50 Foolproof Equations for Everyday Life purports to offer geeks the mathematical tools necessary to adapt to interaction with actual human beings, rather than keyboards. For example, the geek is offered the chance to calculate B (sub win), a dimensionless number predicting whether he should let his boss beat him a golf; E (sub mbarrassed), for whether the geek should let his girlfriend meet his embarrassing family; and L (sub oony) which is supposed to tell the geek if he should see a therapist. The fallacies should be obvious: what kind of geek knows how to play golf, much less is good enough to have a chance of beating his boss? What kind of geek has a girlfriend, realizes his family is embarrassing, and is less embarrassing than his family in the first place? What kind of geek is likely to go to a therapist under any circumstances? We’re the ones that are normal, after all.


The equations for romantic relationships are especially ludicrous; for example S (sub cih), the odds that a geek has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a date with a particular lady, is purportedly calculated by a simple cubic equation, with none of the catastrophe theory, endless series, discontinuous functions, and infinitely complex fractal geometry that any geek with the slightest knowledge of the subject knows is necessary for successful computation of success with the opposite sex.


The book includes a calculator embedded in the cover, but it’s an insulting four-function-plus square root version; no logs, trig functions, exponentials, etc. It’s almost as if the author was trying to make fun of geeks rather than help them out. Spend your money on another video game instead. ( )

Very silly and amusing. An interesting way to quantify unquantifiable matters. ( )

Just for fun. Got this as a gift from my mom, and while it is a little sexist (talks about girlfriends, never boyfriends) the math in itself is just fun. ( )