The Language of Mathematics

Bol Partner

The great book of nature , said Galileo, can be read only by those who know the language in which it was written. And this language is mathematics .In The Language of Mathematics, Keith Devlin reveals the vital role mathematics plays in our eternal quest to understand who we are and the world we live in. More than just the study of numbers, mathematics provides us with the eyes to recognize and describe the hidden patterns of life -- patterns that exist in the physical, biological, and social worlds without, and the realm of ideas and thoughts within.Taking the reader on a wondrous journey through the invisible universe that surrounds us -- a universe made visible by mathematics -- Devlin shows us what keeps a jumbo jet in the air, explains how we can see and hear a football game on TV, allows us to forecast the weather, the behavior of the stock market, and the outcome of elections. Microwave ovens, telephone cables, children's toys, pacemakers, automobiles, and computers -- all operate on mathematical principles. Far from a dry and esoteric subject, mathematics is a rich and living part of our culture.An award-winning author, Keith Devlin is a key participant in the new six-part PBS television series Life by the Numbers , airing in the Spring of 1998. In his books, he conveys both the historical development and the current breadth of mathematics without assuming any technical knowledge or ability on the part of the reader. A brilliant exploration of an often woefully misunderstood subject, The Language of Mathematics celebrates the simplicity, the precision, the punty, and the elegance of mathematics.

Bol

A marvelous compendium of mathematical symbols and their fascinating histories Galileo famously wrote that the book of nature is written in mathematical language. The Language of Mathematics is a wide-ranging and beautifully illustrated collection of short, colorful histories of the most commonly used symbols in mathematics, providing readers with an engaging introduction to the origins, evolution, and conceptual meaning of each one. In dozens of lively and informative entries, Raúl Rojas shows how today’s mathematics stands on the shoulders of giants, mathematicians from around the world who developed mathematical notation through centuries of collective effort. He tells the stories of such figures as al-Khwārizmī, René Descartes, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Augustin-Louis Cauchy, Karl Weierstrass, Sofia Kovalevskaya, David Hilbert, and Kenneth Iverson. Topics range from numbers and variables to sets and functions, constants, and combinatorics. Rojas describes the mathematical problems associated with different symbols and reveals how mathematical notation has sometimes been an accidental process. The entries are self-contained and can be read in any order, each one examining one or two symbols, their history, and the variants they may have had over time. An essential companion for math enthusiasts, The Language of Mathematics shows how mathematics is a living and evolving entity, forever searching for the best symbolism to express relationships between abstract concepts and to convey meaning.