Euclid's Window
The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace
Published on 27. February 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-14-100909-4 (ISBN)
Description
In Euclid's Window, Leonard Mlondinow takes us on a brilliantly entertaining journey through 3,000 years of genius and geometry, introducing the people who revolutionized the way we see the world around us.
Ever since Pythagoras hatched a 'little scheme' to invent a set of rules describing the entire universe, scientists and mathematicians have tried to seek order in the cosmos: Euclid, who in 300BC defined the nature of space; Descartes, a fourteenth-century gambler and idler who invented the graph; Gauss, the fifteen-year-old genius who discovered that space is curved; Einstein, who added time to the equation; and Witten, who ushered in today's weird new world of extra, twisted dimensions.
They all show how geometry is the key to understanding the universe. Once you have viewed life through Euclid's Window, it will never be the same again...
'Elegant, attractive and concise ... also very readable. Buy it'
Ian Stewart, New Scientist
'This is an exhilarating book ... an important book ... and finally, a lovely book, one that reflects the radiance of its subject'
David Berlinski
'Reader-friendly, high-spirited, splendidly lucid and often hilarious'
Washington Post
'Mlodinow has a talent for lively and clear exposition ... Pythagoras' proof has lost none of its capacity to astonish and delight'
Edward Skidelsky, Daily Telegraph
Leonard Mlodinow was a member of the faculty of the Californian Institute of Technology before moving to Hollywood to become a writer for television. He has developed many best selling and award-winning CD-ROMs and is currently Vice President, Emerging Technologies and R&D at Scholastic Inc. He lives in New York City. His other books include The Drunkard's Walk and Subliminal.
Ever since Pythagoras hatched a 'little scheme' to invent a set of rules describing the entire universe, scientists and mathematicians have tried to seek order in the cosmos: Euclid, who in 300BC defined the nature of space; Descartes, a fourteenth-century gambler and idler who invented the graph; Gauss, the fifteen-year-old genius who discovered that space is curved; Einstein, who added time to the equation; and Witten, who ushered in today's weird new world of extra, twisted dimensions.
They all show how geometry is the key to understanding the universe. Once you have viewed life through Euclid's Window, it will never be the same again...
'Elegant, attractive and concise ... also very readable. Buy it'
Ian Stewart, New Scientist
'This is an exhilarating book ... an important book ... and finally, a lovely book, one that reflects the radiance of its subject'
David Berlinski
'Reader-friendly, high-spirited, splendidly lucid and often hilarious'
Washington Post
'Mlodinow has a talent for lively and clear exposition ... Pythagoras' proof has lost none of its capacity to astonish and delight'
Edward Skidelsky, Daily Telegraph
Leonard Mlodinow was a member of the faculty of the Californian Institute of Technology before moving to Hollywood to become a writer for television. He has developed many best selling and award-winning CD-ROMs and is currently Vice President, Emerging Technologies and R&D at Scholastic Inc. He lives in New York City. His other books include The Drunkard's Walk and Subliminal.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
226 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-100909-4 (9780141009094)
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
02/2003
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Leonard Mlodinow is the best-selling author of The Drunkard's Walk, Subliminal and Elastic, as well as a theoretical physicist who taught at Caltech and was a fellow at The Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics. He co-authored two books with Stephen Hawking: A Briefer History of Time and The Grand Design. There are over one million copies of Leonard Mlodinow's books in print.
Content
Part 1 The story of Euclid: the first revolution; the geometry of taxation; among the seven sages; the secret society; Euclid's manifesto; a beautiful woman, a library, and the end of civilization. Part 2 The story of Descartes: the revolution in place; the origin of latitude and longitude; the legacy of the rotten Romans; the discreet charm of the graph; a soldier's story; iced by the snow queen. Part 3 The story of Gauss: the curved space revolution; the trouble with Ptolemy; a Napoleonic hero; the fall of the fifth postulate; lost in hyperbolic space; some insects called the human race; a tale of two aliens; after 2000 years, a face-lift. Part 4 The story of Einstein: revolution at the speed of light; relativity's other Albert; the stuff of space; probationary technical expert, third class; a relatively Euclidean approach; Einstein's apple; from inspiration to perspiration; blue hair triumphs. Part 5 The story of Witten: the weird revolution; ten things I hate about your theory; the necessary uncertainty of being; clash of the Titans; a message in a Kaluza-Klein bottle; the birth of strings; particles, schmarticles!; the trouble with strings; the theory formerly known as strings.