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Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Seife, Charles
by Seife, Charles | PB | Acceptable
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“Former library book; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ”... Read moreAbout condition
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- Buy it nowZero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Seife, Charles
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eBay item number:145585201078
Item specifics
- Condition
- Acceptable
- Seller notes
- Binding
- Paperback
- Weight
- 0 lbs
- Product Group
- Book
- IsTextBook
- No
- ISBN
- 9780140296471
- Book Title
- Zero : the Biography of a Dangerous Idea
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Item Length
- 8 in
- Publication Year
- 2000
- Type
- Textbook
- Format
- Uk-B Format Paperback
- Language
- English
- Illustrator
- Yes
- Item Height
- 0.7 in
- Genre
- Science, Mathematics, Philosophy
- Topic
- History & Surveys / General, History & Philosophy, Number Theory, Physics / General
- Item Weight
- 7.4 Oz
- Item Width
- 5.2 in
- Number of Pages
- 256 Pages
About this product
Product Information
Popular math at its most entertaining and enlightening. " Zero is really something"-Washington Post A New York Times Notable Book. The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything. In Zero , Science Journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers--from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists--who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
ISBN-10
0140296476
ISBN-13
9780140296471
eBay Product ID (ePID)
1717429
Product Key Features
Book Title
Zero : the Biography of a Dangerous Idea
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2000
Topic
History & Surveys / General, History & Philosophy, Number Theory, Physics / General
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Science, Mathematics, Philosophy
Type
Textbook
Format
Uk-B Format Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height
0.7 in
Item Weight
7.4 Oz
Item Length
8 in
Item Width
5.2 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
21
Reviews
"Mathematicians, contrary to popular misconception, are often the most lucid of writers (Bertrand Russell won a Nobel Prize not in mathematics but in literature), and Seife is a welcome example. He writes with an understated charm that takes account of human fear, the mistakes of geniuses and the mind's grandest ambitions." -- Atlanta Journal Constitution "Zero emerges as a daunting intellectual riddle in this fascinating chronicle. With remarkable economy, Seife urges his readers to peer through the zero down into the abyss of absolute emptiness and out into the infinite expanse of space. . . . Deftly and surely, Seife recounts the historical debates, then swiftly rolls the zero right up to the present day, where he plunges through its perilous opening down into the voracious maw of a black hole, and then out into the deep freeze of an ever cooling cosmos. A must read for every armchair physicist." -- Booklist (starred review) "His narrative . . . shifts smoothly from history and philosophy to science and technology, and his prose displays a gift for making complex ideas clear." -- The Dallas Morning News "Seife keeps the tone as light as his subject matter is deep. By book's end, no reader will dispute Seife's claim that zero is among the most fertile--and therefore most dangerous--ideas that humanity has devised. . . . Seife's prose provides readers who struggled through math and science courses a clear window for seeing both the powerful techniques of calculus and the conundrums of modern physics. . . . In doing so . . . this entertaining and enlightening book reveals one of the roots of humanity's deepest uncertainties and greatest insights." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Even innumerates . . . can appreciate the intricate web of conceptual connections Seife illuminates." -- Boston Globe "The greater part of this book tells a fascinating human story with skill and wit . . . we come to appreciate the surprising depth and richness of 'simple' concepts such as zero and infinity--and their remarkable links to the religion and culture of earlier civilizations and to present-day science." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer "Seife . . . recounts his story as an accomplished science journalist, standing on the outside to bring clarity to complex ideas. . . . the crisp explanations are refreshing . . . straightforward and bright." -- The New York Times "Seife has a talent for making the most ball-busting of modern theories . . . seem fairly lucid and common sensical." -- Salon
Grade from
Twelfth Grade
Dewey Decimal
513
Grade to
Up
Lc Classification Number
Qa107
Table of Content
Chapter 0: Null and Void Chapter 1: Nothing Doing: The Origin of Zero Chapter 2: Nothing Comes of Nothing: The West Rejects Zero Chapter 3: Nothing Ventured: Zero Goes East Chapter 4: The Infinite God of Nothing: The Theology of Zero Chapter 5: Infinite Zeroes and Infidel Mathematicians: Zero and the Scientific Revolution Chapter 6: Infinity's Twin: The Infinite Nature of Zero Chapter 7: Absolute Zeroes: The Physics of Zero Chapter 8: Zero Hour at Ground Zero: Zero at the Edge of Space and Time Chapter Infinity: Zero's Final Victory: End Time Appendix A: Animal, Vegetable, or Minister? Appendix B: The Golden Ratio Appendix C: The Modern Definition of a Derivative Appendix D: Cantor Enumerats the Rational Numbers Appendix E: Make Your Own Wormhole Time Machine Selected Bibliography Acknowledgments Index
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| US $15.99 (approx EUR 14.97) | US $15.99 (approx EUR 14.97) | United States | Expedited Shipping | Estimated on or before Wed, 26 Jun to 43230 |
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