"This is a beautiful, important book, a pleasure to read, in which the history recounted truly illuminates the mathematical ideas, and the ideas themselves are superbly explained; a wonderful accomplishment." — Barry Mazur, Harvard UniversityDesigned for students just beginning their study of the discipline, this concise introductory history of mathematics is supplemented by brief but in-depth sketches of the more important individual topics. Covering such subjects as algebra symbo...

Now in its fifth edition, A Mathematics Sampler presents mathematics as both science and art, focusing on the historical role of mathematics in our culture. It uses selected topics from modern mathematics-including computers, perfect numbers, and four-dimensional geometry-to exemplify the distinctive features of mathematics as an intellectual endeavor, a problem-solving tool, and a way of thinking about the rapidly changing world in which we live. A Mathematics Sampler al...

'In order to understand the universe you must know the language in which it is written. And that language is mathematics.'- Galileo (1564-1642)For hundreds of thousands of years, we have sought order in the apparent chaos of the universe. Mathematics has been our most valuable tool in that search, uncovering the patterns and rules that govern our world and beyond. How the World Works: Mathematics serves as a brilliant introduction to the history and...

A celebrated mathematician traces the history of math through the lives and work of twenty-five pioneering mathematiciansIn Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart explores the work of 25 of history's most important mathematicians, showing how they developed on each other's work and built the mathematics we use today.Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics from Archimedes to William Thurst...

Why did Florence Nightingale introduce pie charts? How did Lewis Carroll regard Pythagoras? Who learned calculus from her nursery wallpaper?Spanning from the ancient world to the modern age, The Great Mathematicians tells fascinating and unusual tales of the men and women who transformed mathematics. We meet the mathematician who knew eight languages by the time he was 11, the one who was sent to jail for gambling and the one who published a lot yet never ...

Bestselling author and astrophysicist Mario Livio examines the lives and theories of history’s greatest mathematicians to ask how—if mathematics is an abstract construction of the human mind—it can so perfectly explain the physical world.Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner once wondered about “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics” in the formulation of the laws of nature. Is God a Mathematician? investigates why mathematics is as powerful as it is. From ...

See how math's infinite mysteries and beauty unfold in this captivating educational book!Discover more than 85 of the most important mathematical ideas, theorems, and proofs ever devised with this beautifully illustrated book. Get to know the great minds whose revolutionary discoveries changed our world today.You don't have to be a math genius to follow along with this book! This brilliant book is packed with short, easy-to-grasp explanations, step-by-step ...

The updated new edition of the classic and comprehensive guide to the history of mathematicsFor more than forty years, A History of Mathematics has been the reference of choice for those looking to learn about the fascinating history of humankind’s relationship with numbers, shapes, and patterns. This revised edition features up-to-date coverage of topics such as Fermat’s Last Theorem and the Poincaré Conjecture*,* in addition to recent advances in areas s...

xn + yn = zn, where n represents 3, 4, 5, ...no solution"I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain."With these words, the seventeenth-century French mathematician Pierre de Fermat threw down the gauntlet to future generations. What came to be known as Fermat's Last Theorem looked simple; proving it, however, became the Holy Grail of mathematics, baffling its finest minds for more than 350 years. In F...

"This is geometry as you've never seen it before. A feast for the eyes." ―Ian Stewart, author of Visions of InfinityAn exquisite visual celebration of the 2,500-year history of geometryIf you've ever thought that mathematics and art don't mix, this stunning visual history of geometry will change your mind. As much a work of art as a book about mathematics, Beautiful Geometry presents more than sixty exquisite color plates illustra...

Calculus is the key to much of modern science and engineering. It is the mathematical method for the analysis of things that change, and since in the natural world we are surrounded by change, the development of calculus was a huge breakthrough in the history of mathematics. But it is also something of a mathematical adventure, largely because of the way infinity enters at virtually every twist and turn... In The Calculus Story David Acheson presents a wide-ranging picture of calc...

Math's infinite mysteries unfold in this updated edition of the award-winning The Math Book. Beginning millions of years ago with ancient “ant odometers,” and moving through time to our modern-day quest for higher dimensions, prolific polymath Clifford Pickover covers major milestones in mathematical history. Among the numerous concepts readers will encounter as they dip into this inviting anthology: cicada-generated prime numbers, magic squares, and the butterfly effect. Each top...