Proof

Chalkdust

6 March 2026

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Adam Kucharski is a Professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Proof (Waterstones, Profile), is Kucharski’s third book and focuses on how mathematics is used to analyse experiments and establish the truth from the noise.

Style

The book is clearly written and an enjoyable read. I was particularly interested when Kucharski is discuses his experience analysing the UK’s Covid data and how this was used by the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

Control

Proof is important part of mathematics and this book does a great job of discussing history and use of proof, both in the sense of establishing mathematical results in a logical manner, and as the way of extracting truth from experimental results. The book has a nice balance of the history with examples from Kucharski’s own work. The material is presented in a manner that should be accessible to anyone.

Damage

The range of mathematics covered in this book, from the work of Weierstrass and Cantor through to the work of Fisher and Gosset, is impressive as it never feels rushed. All of the ideas are clearly explained and their impact discussed. This book does a brilliant job of showing that mathematics is about more than we learn at school.

Aggression

If you have ever wondered how we know that certain medical treatments actually work, or where our standards for guilt and innocence in jury trials come from then this is the book for you.

You can vote for your favourite book on the Book of the Year shortlist below. The winning book will be crowned the Chalkdust Readers’ Choice. Voting closes at midday (GMT) on Wednesday 18 March 2026.

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