Items related to The Ordering of Time: From the Ancient Computus to...
This book is a concise history of the use and interpretation of time, written by one of the foremost medievalists in Europe today.
Arno Borst examines the various ways that time has been calculated by numbers and measured by instruments over several centuries, from the computus—an ancient method of determining times and dates—to the present-day computer. In a wide-ranging discussion, he analyzes the classical Greek concepts of divine, natural, and human time; the universal time of ancient Rome; the Easter cycle of the Middle Ages; the development of the mechanical clock in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; early modern chronology; and twentieth-century data processing.
Borst argues that although many centuries and countless different instruments—sundials, horologia, abaci, astrolabes, calendars, and calculating machines—separate the medieval computus from the modern computer, each generation has had to answer the same question: how can we make the best use of our available time to improve our lives? The computer, he suggests, is merely a new instrument employed for an ancient purpose.
Lively and accessible, The Ordering of Time will be welcomed by students and researchers in social and cultural history, the history of science and mathematics, as well as anyone interested in the history of time and numbers.
Arno Borst examines the various ways that time has been calculated by numbers and measured by instruments over several centuries, from the computus—an ancient method of determining times and dates—to the present-day computer. In a wide-ranging discussion, he analyzes the classical Greek concepts of divine, natural, and human time; the universal time of ancient Rome; the Easter cycle of the Middle Ages; the development of the mechanical clock in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; early modern chronology; and twentieth-century data processing.
Borst argues that although many centuries and countless different instruments—sundials, horologia, abaci, astrolabes, calendars, and calculating machines—separate the medieval computus from the modern computer, each generation has had to answer the same question: how can we make the best use of our available time to improve our lives? The computer, he suggests, is merely a new instrument employed for an ancient purpose.
Lively and accessible, The Ordering of Time will be welcomed by students and researchers in social and cultural history, the history of science and mathematics, as well as anyone interested in the history of time and numbers.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Arno Borst is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Konstanz in Germany. Borst's previous books include Medieval Worlds (Polity, 1992).
Language Notes:
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German
Original Language: German
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
- Publication date1994
- ISBN 10 0226066592
- ISBN 13 9780226066592
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages178
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 21.20
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Ordering of Time: From the Ancient Computus to the Modern Computer
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(1994)
ISBN 10: 0226066592
ISBN 13: 9780226066592
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0226066592
Buy New
US$ 21.20
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Ordering of Time: From the Ancient Computus to the Modern Computer
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(1994)
ISBN 10: 0226066592
ISBN 13: 9780226066592
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0226066592
Buy New
US$ 27.60
Convert currency
Stock Image
THE ORDERING OF TIME: FROM THE A
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(1994)
ISBN 10: 0226066592
ISBN 13: 9780226066592
New
Softcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.57. Seller Inventory # Q-0226066592
Buy New
US$ 59.42
Convert currency