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Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable
 
 
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Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable (Paperback)

by Brian Clegg (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product Description

Infinity is a concept that fascinates everyone from a seven-year-old child to a maths professor. So remarkable and strange is it that contemplating it has driven at least two great mathematicians over the edge into insanity. Where did the concept of infinity come from? Who were the people who originally defined and later refined this paradoxical quantity? Why is infinity, a concept we can never experience or truly grasp, at the heart of science? How can some infinities be bigger than others? An exploration of the most mind-boggling feature of maths and physics, this work examines amazing paradoxes, for example Hilbert's Hotel. This imaginary resort has an infinite number of rooms, which all happen to be occupied. Unfortunately an endless coach turns up carrying an infinite number of new guests. It's not a problem though - it's easy to prove they can all be accommodated. The book also looks at: the people who devised and refined the concept, the many mind-bending paradoxes of infinity, infinity's place at the heart of mathematics and science in processes such as calculus, how dividing by zero brings infinity into view and infinity and cosmos.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable
63% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
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3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars An easy way to infinity, 10 May 2006
By Yngvar Hartvigsen (Luster, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I was a little disappointed that works and discoveries about infinity was not treated in more detail. Instead, many of the pages are used for biographies; The life and doings of a lot of mathematicians are covered from childhood to death. This of course can be (or is) very interesting, but was not what I excpected. I also got a feeling that this was done in part to avoid writing more about infinity, which of course is a much more difficult topic. The book is intended for a reader with little mathematical background, and this may be the reason why the author avoids difficult questions. There are good and readable presentations of some of the wellknown paradoxes, which should make everyone wonder about the strange behavior when we move away from the finite experience.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars PUSHING BACK THE BOUNDARIES OF THINKING, 30 Oct 2003
This excellent book helps readers get their minds around one of the most difficult concepts in the world if not the universe. The author approaches the subject of INFINITY from a number of fascinating angles and takes us through a historical journey to demonstrate how philosophers and mathematicians from Zeno, Plato and Aristotle through Galileo to Einstein, Leibniz and Hilbert have grappled with this most unthinkable of problems. I found this book thoroughly thought-provoking, highly stimulating and immensely rewarding. It enriched my knowledge and helped me push back the boundaries of my own thought processes.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 25 Jan 2005
By J. E. Davidson (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This is a very interesting and informative description of the history of infinity.

Infinity is a fascinating (and complex) subject but Brian Clegg does an extremely good job of presenting it in a highly readable and essentially non-mathematical way. I have a mathematical background but this book should be accessible to all.

I tend to agree with the previous reviewer who criticised presentation of some of the more complex mathematics in particular the higher alephs and Godel. However, I do not believe that these issues significantly detracted from my enjoyment of the book (mainly because I had not expectation that they would be covered well).

An excellent popular science/mathematics book - highly recommended to all

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars There are better works around
If I'd not read Rucker's work on the subject (Infinity and The Mind), I might have thought this was pretty cool. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Matt Westwood

3.0 out of 5 stars To infinity and beyond .................
There is almost a pun in the title: how can you have a brief history of infinity? However, this book by Brian Clegg is part of a series, so it is stretching bounds of probability... Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2006 by Mr P R Morgan

4.0 out of 5 stars definitely worth reading
I'm no mathematician but still really enjoyed this book. There were bits I didn't understand (some of the set theory ideas, and the proof for aleph-1), but even so it scratched an... Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2006

5.0 out of 5 stars Hits the (infinite) spot
I was given this at Christmas, and thought it did just what it said on the tin - a brief history of infinity. If I have one criticism it's that it's a bit short. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2004 by paul_cullen5

3.0 out of 5 stars Great history, shame about the maths.
Sorry to be a wet blanket among all these favourable reviews, but none are from readers who know the maths. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2004 by salfordlad0

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Buzz Lightyear would enjoy this!
As a determined non-scientist I found this book a real treat. History, paradoxes, colourful characters - I could go on and on and on and on....but I won't. Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy Star Trek more by buying this book for someone
Has anyone ever spoiled your enjoyment of Star Trek by pointing out the logical impossibilities? If they have, then buy them this book for Christmas, as (a) they will enjoy it... Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2003 by N. Duffill

5.0 out of 5 stars Feed Your Mind
Unlike one of the other reviewers, I am a scientist, although I got over it.... But this book makes maths and matters of science enjoyable and accessible. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2003 by Mr. P. Cook

5.0 out of 5 stars Infinity for a wide audience
A very readable and enjoyable book on a mind-boggling subject. The author brings to life the difficult concept of infinity with descriptions of paradoxes that have arisen from it... Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2003 by Chris Priest

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable, but thought-provoking
A very readable overview of the history of the infinitely large and the infinitely small, with thought-provoking insights into what those phrases even mean.
Published on 20 Oct 2003

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