Catalog Search Results
Author
Language
English
Description
Mathematics shapes almost everything we do. But despite its reputation as the study of fundamental truths, the stories we have been told about it are wrong--warped like the sixteenth-century map that enlarged Europe at the expense of Africa, Asia and the Americas. In The Secret Lives of Numbers, renowned math historian Kate Kitagawa and journalist Timothy Revell make the case that the history of math is infinitely deeper, broader, and richer than...
Author
Publisher
Bloomsbury Sigma, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Johnny Ball has been a well-loved name in mathematics for many years. Wonders Beyond Numbers is his magnum opus, and his first book for more than ten years. It is nothing less than the history of mathematics; he describes it as 'a summation of my career as an enthusiast for mathematics'. It will help spark (or re-spark) the reader's love of maths in its many facets. The scope of the book is breathtaking. Running in something approaching chronological...
Author
Series
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
In this Very Short Introduction, Jacqueline Stedall explores the rich historical and cultural diversity of mathematical endeavour from the distant past to the present day, using illustrative case studies drawn from a range of times and places; including early imperial China, the medieval Islamic world, and nineteenth-century Britain--
Author
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
"How can we be sure that Pythagoras's theorem is really true? Why is the 'angle in a semicircle' always 90 degrees? And how can tangents help determine the speed of a bullet? Following in the footsteps of his bestselling The Calulus Story, David Acheson offers a highly illustrated tour of geometry, from ancient Greece to the present day, packed with elegant deductions and wide applications. And along the way, he uncovers some of the loveliest surprises...
Author
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Pub. Date
[2022]
Language
English
Description
"This book tells the story of the pentagon and its cousin, the pentagram, delving into the shapes' history, mathematical features, cultural significance, and their role in nature, science, and art. While the pentagon may seem to be a quotidian shape, it has a fascinating history. It was a favorite symbol of the Pythagoreans, a cult who reportedly used the shape to identify themselves to other members. Over the years, it became a source of fascination...
Author
Publisher
Sterling
Pub. Date
2011.
Language
English
Description
"Bestselling popular science author Amir Aczel selects the most fascinating individuals and stories in the history of mathematics, presenting a colorful narrative that explores the quirky personalities behind some of the most profound, enduring theorems. Through such mathematical geniuses as Archimedes, Leonardo of Pisa (a.k.a. Fibonacci), Tartaglia ("the stutterer"), Descartes, Gottfried Liebniz, Carl Gauss, Joseph Fourier (Napoleon's mathematician),...
Author
Publisher
Prometheus Books
Pub. Date
[2020]
Language
English
Description
"Two veteran math educators concisely profile leading mathematicians throughout history highlighting their often unusual personalities and lives while giving average readers insights into the importance of their mathematical discoveries."--
Author
Publisher
Pantheon Books
Pub. Date
[2021]
Language
English
Description
"For readers of Steven Strogatz's Infinite Powers and The Joy of x comes this illuminating exploration of the ways in which math-and the people who have mastered its inherent power through the ages-has shaped our world. In this captivating, sweeping history, Michael Brooks makes clear that mathematics was one of the foundational innovations that catapulted humanity from a nomadic existence to civilization, and that it has been instrumental in every...
Author
Series
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Pub. Date
2021.
Language
English
Description
"What is the best way to photograph a speeding bullet? How can lost hikers find their way out of a forest? Why does light move through glass in the least amount of time possible? 'When Least is Best' combines the mathematical history of extrema with contemporary examples to answer these intriguing questions and more. Paul Nahin shows how life often works at the extremes -- with values becoming as small (or as large) as possible -- and he considers...
Author
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Pub. Date
2023.
Language
English
Description
"The proof stage is the story of the unexpected collaborations and resonances between theater and mathematics and how they have evolved since the turn of the twentieth century. Toward the end of the 1800s, unsettling discoveries about alternate geometries and the mathematical infinite began to reveal that, despite its reputation for absolute certainty, mathematical truth is not immutable. At the same time, new, experimental forms of theater were rapidly...
16) The math book
Series
Publisher
DK Publishing
Pub. Date
2023.
Language
English
Description
What is an imaginary number? Can two parallel lines ever meet? How can math help us predict the future? This engaging overview explores answers to big questions like these and how they contribute to our understanding of math. If you thought it was difficult to learn about topics like algebra and statistics, The Math Book presents key information in an easy to follow layout. Learn about the history of math, from ancient ideas such as magic squares...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
Bayes' rule appears to be a straightforward, one-line theorem: by updating our initial beliefs with objective new information, we get a new and improved belief. To its adherents, it is an elegant statement about learning from experience. To its opponents, it is subjectivity run amok.
In the first-ever account of Bayes' rule for general readers, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne explores this controversial theorem and the human obsessions surrounding it....
In the first-ever account of Bayes' rule for general readers, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne explores this controversial theorem and the human obsessions surrounding it....
Author
Publisher
Basic Books
Pub. Date
2023.
Language
English
Description
"Over Plato's Academy in ancient Athens, it is said, hung a sign: "Let no one ignorant of geometry enter here." Plato thought no one could do philosophy without also doing mathematics. In The Waltz of Reason, mathematician and philosopher Karl Sigmund shows us why. Charting an epic story spanning millennia and continents, Sigmund shows that philosophy and mathematics are inextricably intertwined, mutual partners in a reeling search for truth. Beginning...
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