Mathwoman

“Real-Life Problems from Women on the Job” is the ambiguous (to English ears) subtitle of a book with an even worse title, She Does Math! (Mathematical Association of America, Washington DC, $24, lSBN 0 88385 702 2). Editor Marla Parker presents a mixture of women’s biographies and maths problems that show the relevance of mathematics to everyday life. The problems are interesting, ranging from conversions of units to counterintuitive probability – but the biographies are bland.