James Stein, Ph.D.

James Stein, Ph.D. graduated from Yale and went to Berkeley for grad school during the '60s. Although he's spent most of his life teaching mathematics, he's actually held a few real jobs (computer programmer, engineer, stock options analyst). During the 20th century, mathematics expanded its scope significantly, branching out from the physical sciences and engineering to describing the more complex world of the social sciences and human interactions. He writes books that he hopes will enable people to appreciate and use these developments—without having to learn the equations and formulas.