
Pythagoras
His Lives and the Legacy of a Rational Universe
Kitty Ferguson(Author)
Icon Books (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 3. March 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-84831-231-9 (ISBN)
Description
This is the story of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, whose insights transformed the ancient world and still inspire the realms of science, mathematics, philosophy and the arts. Einstein said that the most incredible thing about our universe was that it was comprehensible at all. As Kitty Ferguson explains, Pythagoras had much the same idea - but 2,500 years earlier. Though known by many only for his famous Theorem, in fact the pillars of our scientific tradition - belief that the universe is rational, that there is unity to all things, and that numbers and mathematics are a powerful guide to truth about nature and the cosmos - hark back to the convictions of this legendary scholar. Kitty Ferguson brilliantly evokes Pythagoras' ancient world of, showing how ideas spread in antiquity, and chronicles the incredible influence he and his followers have had on so many extraordinary people in the history of Western thought and science. 'Pythagoras' influence on the ideas, and therefore on the destiny, of the human race was probably greater than that of any single man before or after him' - Arthur Koestler.
Reviews / Votes
'Pythagoras' does two things exceptionally well. It provides a magnificent grand tour of the history of mathematics and how it has shaped our understanding of the universe. And it provides deep insight into how the West has manufactured and maintains its Greek roots. This makes it a valuable and inspiring read. -- Ziauddin Sardar, IndependentMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Duxford
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
Illustrations, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
305 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84831-231-9 (9781848312319)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Kitty Ferguson was born in San Antonio, Texas. She now divides her time between New Jersey and Cambridge, UK. An experienced science writer, her previous books include Stephen Hawking: Quest for a Theory of Everything