Taming the Infinite
By Ian Stewart
2007
First Published
3.83
Average Rating
340
Number of Pages
From ancient Babylon to the last great unsolved problems, an acclaimed mathematician and popular science writer brings us his witty, engaging, and definitive history of mathematics In his famous straightforward style, Ian Stewart explains each major development—from the first number systems to chaos theory—and considers how each affected society and changed everyday life forever. Maintaining a personal touch, he introduces all of the outstanding mathematicians of history, from the key Babylonians, Greeks, and Egyptians, via Newton and Descartes, to Fermat, Babbage, and Godel, and demystifies math's key concepts without recourse to complicated formulae. Written to provide a captivating historic narrative for the non-mathematician, this book is packed with fascinating nuggets and quirky asides, and contains plenty of illustrations and diagrams to illuminate and aid understanding of a subject many dread, but which has made the world what it is today.
Avg Rating
3.83
Number of Ratings
746
5 STARS
25%
4 STARS
42%
3 STARS
27%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Ian Stewart
Author · 41 books
Ian Nicholas Stewart is an Emeritus Professor and Digital Media Fellow in the Mathematics Department at Warwick University, with special responsibility for public awareness of mathematics and science. He is best known for his popular science writing on mathematical themes. —from the author's website Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
