Numericon
A Journey through the Hidden Lives of Numbers
Published on 4. September 2014
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-78206-154-0 (ISBN)
Description
Numericon tells the stories of the numbers, mathematical discoveries, oddities and personalities that have shaped the way we understand the world around us. Funny, bizarre, tragic and dramatic, these stories reveal the power, passion and beauty of mathematics. Each chapter is an intriguing story about a number, including why 3 is strong, e is natural and Graham's number is too big to write. Packed with quirky, informative facts and bound in a beautiful foil-blocked cover, this book will do for maths what The Etymologicon did for the English language.
Reviews / Votes
'This is an excellent book, filled with learning, enthusiasm and humour. 5 stars' The Lady. * Lady *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 205 mm
Width: 136 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
398 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78206-154-0 (9781782061540)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2014
1st Edition
Quercus
€3.99
Available for download
Persons
Marianne Freiberger and Rachel Thomas are the Editors of Plus Magazine (plus.maths.org), a free online magazine opening a door to the world of maths for the general public. Before joining Plus in 2005, Marianne did a PhD in pure mathematics, followed by three years as a postdoc at Queen Mary, University of London. She has also been Editor-in-Chief of the mathscareers website. Rachel worked as a maths consultant for business, government and industry, after completing her Masters in pure mathematics at the University of Western Australia. She has edited the Gazette of the Australian Maths Society and designed mathematical walking tours with Marcus du Sautoy for Maths in the City. Rachel and Marianne were also editors of the popular maths book 50: Visions of Mathematics (OUP, 2014).
Content
Introduction. How nothing gave us something. One is all you need. Butterflies, murder and a proof that didn't fit in the margin. From irrationality to the divine. Of prime importance. Naturally! It takes three. In another dimension. Trouble with tiles. Bees do it, we do it... Easy as pi? Are you feeling lucky? A matter of scale. About time. It is a truth universally acknowledged... Mostly harmless. Would you like fries with that? An adventure through time and space. You can be (almost) certain of this. The height of perfection. Too big to write but not too big for Graham. Are we there yet? Marks the spot. Imaginary is everything. QED. Further reading. Index.