- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Australia (30 Nov 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140296476
- ISBN-13: 978-0140296471
- Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 1.2 x 20.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,534,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
This is one of the best-written popular science books to have come this way for quite a while... Seife has a neat turn of phrase, an easy yet respectful familiarity with his subject that helps the maths slip down easily. --Nicholas Lezard, 'The Guardian'
A witty but lucid account... A must for armchair logicians. --'BBC Focus'
A breathless tour of the dangerous idea of zero. --'New Scientist' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
A witty but lucid account... A must for armchair logicians. --'BBC Focus'
A breathless tour of the dangerous idea of zero. --'New Scientist' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
'Focus', July 2003
a witty but lucid account... A must for armchair logicians.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Babylonians invented it, Indians worshipped it, Greeks abhorred it. Zero has been a problematic number for a long time. European mathematicians followed Greek footsteps, until they finally realized how important thing zero was for advanced mathematics.
Seife presents us the history of zero and its sister concept infinity, not only in mathematics, but also in physics and quantum mechanics. Zero is an entertaining book, if a bit light. For quick popular science entertainment purposes it's a good choice. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)
Seife presents us the history of zero and its sister concept infinity, not only in mathematics, but also in physics and quantum mechanics. Zero is an entertaining book, if a bit light. For quick popular science entertainment purposes it's a good choice. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)
42 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was absolutely wonderful, it delves into the history of mathematics, as far back as the creation of numbers themselves. It looks at the contribution that the Greeks, Babylonians and Hindus made to mathematics, and how religion had restricted the development of mathematics. The book was written very well, it felt like a story book, rather than a factual book. I recommend this book for everyone with an interest in Maths, you do not need to be a mathematician to enjoy this book.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Being an undergraduate philosopher I've had to read a lot of maths books, and this is by far the best. It's true that you don't need much maths background to understand it, but it's also highly enjoyable for those with a lot of maths or physics knowledge - it links up and explains general assumptions in a way which seems never to occur to most teachers of sciences courses. The proof of 0=1 (and, extrapolating, that winston churchill = a carrot) is excellent and well worth committing to memory just to freak out any maths nerds one knows. Also worth a go is the step-by-step guide to making your own wormhole time machine (Step 1: Make a small wormhole, and attach one end to something really heavy). Really excellent, buy everyone you know a copy for christmas.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An amazing read
I've recently discovered an interest for mathematics and its history - this book has made me purchase two more books on similar subjects. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Hristina
Book Review
This is a very good book, both for the technical and non-technical because they will both get the same meaning.
Published 9 months ago by Deenesh
Mystery Math!
When you start to read a book such as this you are taken in to a world of intriguing historical shenanigans and then the book becomes less a book about math and more about people. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Terry_E
Wonderful
This was a summer read and one that I completed in two evenings - its that engaging.
The idea is simple: Zero is a recent invention and without it, the World would be a... Read more
The idea is simple: Zero is a recent invention and without it, the World would be a... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Glen Gilchrist
Fascinating history of the concept of zero
A fascinating account of the evolution of the understanding of zero - and, in recent centuries, its relationship to infinity. Read more
Published 22 months ago by M. F. Cayley
Zero!
I used this book for a mathematics assignment on the number zero. It was really interesting and went right through history and different cultures and their use of zero. Read more
Published on 24 May 2010 by R. Wilson
Journalism is not History of Ideas
This book is like a news paper report; whenever it deals with something with which I am familiar it is wrong or grossly misleading. Read more
Published on 23 May 2010 by R. Larham
A really fabulous read
I was given this as a gift and showed it to my Romanian father in law - who pulled out of his brief case the exact same book in Romanian. Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by P. Fogarty
good but not outstanding
I read a lot of popular science, especially math and physics. This book was well written but not among the top books in its genre.
Published on 6 Nov 2009 by Risto
Fascinating!
The first chapter (chapter zero) is rubbish, I nearly put the book down thinking it would be a novel. Thankfully it is a very short chapter and I continued reading. Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2009 by L. Morris
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