"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Robert Kaplan is a mathematics teacher, and he organizes his cabinet around--nothing. How did we come to have a symbol for zero? Who used it first? Usually the invention (or discovery) of zero is given as occurring in India in about the year 600 CE. Kaplan gives much more shrift to Sumerian, Babylonian, and Greek experiments with abacuses, counting boards, positional notation, and abstract thought. He acknowledges that his approach will be controversial:
Haven't all our dots funneled back to India? Were zero and the variable not truly born here, twin offspring of sunya and what seems the singularly Indian understanding of vacancy as receptive? But like an hour-glass, the funnel opens out again and the dots stream down to ancient Greece.
Kaplan's meditations on zero are not confined to its origin. He muses on the "zero of self," on infinitesimals, on the Mayan zero, and on the nothingness of suicide. Throughout, he shows "a sensuous delight in syllables," a love of words as well as numbers, that makes the book a feast for both halves of the brain. --Mary Ellen Curtin
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # DADAX0195128427
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # newMercantile_0195128427
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0195128427
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0195128427
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0195128427
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0195128427
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0195128427
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks93624
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.77. Seller Inventory # Q-0195128427
Book Description Condition: new. 1. Book is in NEW condition. Satisfaction Guaranteed! Fast Customer Service!!. Seller Inventory # PSN0195128427