Whether you paid much attention to math in school or not, the truth is that an equation could just save your life. What if you were plummeting in a plane with no engine and you needed to know what size parachute to make in order to jump and survive? Or what if you were tracing the origins of an important message from outer space? From how to work out the best guard configuration to protect a painting in the Louvre to saving the planet from total blackout during an energy crisis, Chris Waring uses wit and accessible math to explain the power of numbers.