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glossy full color illustrated (cover of book and cover of dustwrapper are identical in appearance) hardcover ~ 4to ~ 4º (quarto ~ 8"x11"). large "coffee table" book, international or priority shipping will cost extra. dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover.very fine cond. looks new. like new. as new. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in very fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped. nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking, underlining, remainder markings etc~. first edition. first printing (#1 in # line). b&w photo illustrated frontis. & title pg. 287p. glossy pages throughout. illustrated throughout with b&w photos, diagrams & illustrations. further reading. index. world history. history of science. philosophy. mathematics. astronomy. ~ The rise of civilization and advances in mathematics have gone hand in hand. Greek, Arab and Hindu breakthroughs in trigonometry allowed navigation across the oceans and the discovery of new lands. Babylonian methods developed over four thousand years ago enable us to solve complex equations today. Mobile telephones wouldn't work without the strange idea of calculations in 10 dimensions, and even playing a DVD involves the use of abstract algebra. Much we take for granted ~ from television and the internet to passenger jets and the stock market ~ relies on mathematical innovation. Simply put, society could not function without mathematics. The Story of Mathematics brings us the definitive history of this most crucial of subjects. Opening with the first number systems of ancient Babylon, Egypt and Rome and concluding with the great modern problems of Fermat's Last Theorem and the Riemann Hypothesis, Professor Ian Stewart leads us through simple explanations of geometry, algebra, probability, logic and all major areas of math. Be it the attempts of calculus to quantify nature, the esoteric realms of higher~dimensional space or the surprising world of chaos theory, each topic is broken down into easily understandable steps. Along the way, we learn how zero and the decimal point were invented, what imaginary numbers really are, and where parallel lines meet. Drawing a direct line from antiquity to the present, Professor Stewart also looks at the remarkable lives and revolutionary insights of the stars of the math firmament including Euclid, Archimedes, Fibonacci, Descartes, Galileo, Newton, Poincare and Godel. A captivating history for non~mathematicians, The Story of Mathematics is packed with dazzling ideas and fascinating asides, and contains over 100 illustrations and diagrams to illuminate a subject many dread, but which has made our world what it is today.
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