Guesstimation : solving the world's problems on the back of a cocktail napkin /

Any idea what fraction of land in the US is covered by either a roof or pavement? Known as a Fermi problem, this type of question requires the use of reasonable estimation, which is the focus of the book at hand. In the initial chapters, Weinstein (physics, Old Dominion Univ.) and Adam (math, Old Dominion Univ.) briefly review good "guesstimation" techniques involving numbers (i.e., scientific notation, accuracy, unit conversion) and explain why the use of the geometric mean is preferred over the arithmetic mean. The authors then meander through a wide variety of fascinating problems, roughly arranged in "world-type" categories: animals, people, transportation, energy, work, Earth's chemical elements, environment, atmosphere, and space. Some of the problems are easy, some are hard--and most will grab the reader's interest. Again, the goal is not to produce "the answer" to these questions but rather to produce a reasonable "guesstimate." At the book's close, Weinstein and Adam offer a collection of 33 unanswered questions for readers to explore on their own. Finally, readers should be forewarned: this is not a book to read, but one to interact with and learn from via its interesting situations. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers and libraries. J. Johnson Western Washington University