There’s a useful calculation being used by Wall Street, Silicon Valley and maths professors all over the world, and it predicts that human civilization will be over in 760 years. Unfortunately, there is disagreement over how to apply the formula, and according to one physicist it should be more like 115. With his rare gift for explaining mathematical concepts and a keen eye for the revealing anecdote, William Poundstone explains how it is done, with brief detours into archaeology, philology, and overdue library books. Using its deceptively simple method, we can look at the world around us with new eyes. What is the chance that there are multiple universes? How long will Hamilton run? Will the US stock market continue to perform as well this century as it has for the last hundred years? And are we all doomed? William Poundstone is the author of more than ten non-fiction books, including 'Fortune's Formula', which was the Amazon Editors' Pick for #1 non-fiction book of 2005.