Numbers
Computers, Philosophers, and the Search for Meaning
John Tabak(Author)
Facts On File Inc (Publisher)
Published on 1. June 2004
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-8160-4955-4 (ISBN)
Description
One of the most fundamental concepts influencing the development of human civilization is numbers. While societies today rely on their understanding of numbers for everything from mapping the universe to running word processing programs on computers to buying lunch, numbers are a human invention. Babylonian, Roman, and Arabic societies devised influential systems for representing numbers, yet the story of how numbers developed is far more complicated. Concepts such as zero, negative numbers, fractions, irrational numbers, and roots of numbers were often controversial in the past. Numbers deals with the development of numbers from fractions to algebraic numbers to transcendental numbers to complex numbers and their uses. The book also examines in detail the number pi, the evolution of the idea of infinity, and the representation of numbers in computers. The metric and American systems of measurement as well as the applications of some historical concepts of numbers in such modern forms as cryptography and hand calculators are also covered.
Illustrations, thought-provoking text, and other supplemental material cover the key ideas, figures, and events in the historical development of numbers.
Illustrations, thought-provoking text, and other supplemental material cover the key ideas, figures, and events in the historical development of numbers.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
29 b&w photographs, 21 line drawings
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
522 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8160-4955-4 (9780816049554)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John Tabak, Ph.D., performed graduate work at Suny at Stony Brook and received a degree in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is the author of A Look at Earth and A Look at Neptune, two astronomy titles for middle school readers. He is presently writing a history of American sign language.