The Math Book from Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics
Math’s infinite mysteries and beauty unfold in this follow-up to the best-selling The Science Book. Beginning millions of years ago with ancient “ant odometers” and moving through time to our modern-day quest for new dimensions, it covers 250 milestones in mathematical history. Among the numerous delights readers will learn about as they dip into this inviting anthology: cicada-generated prime numbers, magic squares from centuries ago, the discovery of pi and calculus, and the butterfly effect. Each topic gets a lavishly illustrated spread with stunning color art, along with formulas and concepts, fascinating facts about scientists’ lives, and real-world applications of the theorems.
This book summarizes on each page a history of the math theory and person who came up with it. The illustrations are nice, but I found the history of the theories more interesting. Some theories the average reader may know already and others will be new ideas. It’s an encyclopedia of Math knowledge and ideas. To young physicist, science majors, astronomy lovers, and amateur self educators and the Mensa crowd, this book is for you.
250 of the most intriguing mathematical milestones including:
Ant Odometer (c. 150 million B.C.) • Knots (c. 100,000 B.C.) • Ishango Bone (c. 18,000 B.C.) • Magic Squares (c. 2200 B C ) • Pythagorean Theorem and Triangles (c. 600 B.C.) • Zeno’s Paradoxes (c. 445 B.C.) • Euclid’s Elements (300 B.C.) • Abacus (c. 1200) – Golden Ratio (1509) • Logarithms (1614) • Slide Rule (1621) • Pascal’s Triangle (1654) • Discovery of Calculus (c. 1665) • Normal Distnbution Curve (1733) • Fundamental Theorem of Algebra (1797) • Barycentric Calculus (1827) • The Whims Strip (1858) • Riemann Hypothesis (1859) • Flatland (1884) • Proof of the Prime Number Theorem (1896) • Hairy Ball Theorem (1912) • Infinite Monkey Theorem (1913) • Geodesic Dome (1922) • Bourbaki: Secret Society (1935) • Chaos and the Butterfly Effect (1963) • Fuzzy Logic (1965) • Rubik’s Cube (1974) • Fractals (1975) • The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (1996) • Tetris Is NP-Complete (2002) • Checkers Is Solved (2007) • Mathematical Universe Hypothesis (2007)
Download The Math Book From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics by Clifford A. Pickover in free pdf format.
