ENGLISH

The Irrationals: A Story of the Numbers You Can't Count On

By Julian Havil

Book information

Publisher
Princeton University Press
Year
2023
ISBN
9780691247670
DOI
10.1515/9780691247670
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (2183617 bytes)
Series
Princeton Science Library; 134
Pages
320\316
Library
degruyter.com
Time added
2023-11-01 09:28:32

Description

An entertaining and enlightening history of irrational numbers, from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century The ancient Greeks discovered them, but it wasn't until the nineteenth century that irrational numbers were properly understood and rigorously defined, and even today not all their mysteries have been revealed. In The Irrationals, the first popular and comprehensive book on the subject, Julian Havil tells the story of irrational numbers and the mathematicians who have tackled their challenges, from antiquity to the twenty-first century. Along the way, he explains why irrational numbers are surprisingly difficult to define—and why so many questions still surround them. Fascinating and illuminating, this is a book for everyone who loves math and the history behind it.

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