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Despite what we may sometimes imagine, popular mathematics writing didn't begin with Martin Gardner. In fact, it has a rich tradition stretching back hundreds of years. This entertaining and enlightening anthology--the first of its kind--gathers nearly one hundred fascinating selections from the past 500 years of popular math writing, bringing to life a little-known side of math history. Ranging from the late fifteenth to the late twentieth century, and drawing from books, newspapers, magazines, and websites, A Wealth of Numbers includes recreational, classroom, and work mathematics;

Mathematics. --- Math --- Science --- Mathematics --- Popular works --- History.

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A sweeping cultural history of one of the most influential mathematical books ever writtenEuclid's Elements of Geometry is one of the fountainheads of mathematics—and of culture. Written around 300 BCE, it has traveled widely across the centuries, generating countless new ideas and inspiring such figures as Isaac Newton, Bertrand Russell, Abraham Lincoln, and Albert Einstein. Encounters with Euclid tells the story of this incomparable mathematical masterpiece, taking readers from its origins in the ancient world to its lasting influence today.In this lively and informative book, Benjamin Wardhaugh explains how Euclid’s text journeyed from antiquity to the Renaissance, introducing some of the many readers, copyists, and editors who left their mark on the Elements before handing it on. He shows how some read the book as a work of philosophy, while others viewed it as a practical guide to life. He examines the many different contexts in which Euclid's book and his geometry were put to use, from the Neoplatonic school at Athens and the workshops of Restoration London to the Jesuit mission in China and the artisans' studios of medieval Baghdad. Wardhaugh shows how the Elements inspired ideas in theology, art, and music, and how the book has acquired new relevance to the strange geometries of dark matter and curved space.Encounters with Euclid traces the life and afterlives of one of the most remarkable works of mathematics ever written, revealing its continuing role in the timeless search for order and reason in an unruly world.

Geometry. --- Mathematics. --- Math --- Science --- Mathematics --- Euclid's Elements --- Euclid. --- Euclides. --- Alfred North Whitehead. --- Baruch Spinoza. --- Bodleian Library. --- Copernicus. --- Edna St. Vincent Millay. --- Euclidean geometry. --- Galileo Galilei. --- Galileo. --- Hobbes. --- Johannes Kepler. --- Kepler. --- Platonic solids. --- Proclus. --- Ptolemaic Egypt. --- Pythagorean theorem. --- Spinoza. --- Thales' theorem. --- Thomas Hobbes. --- Vatican Library. --- book history. --- geometric algebra. --- golden ratio. --- great books. --- history of math. --- history of mathematics. --- history of the book. --- lemma. --- logic. --- mathematical proofs. --- music theory. --- parallel postulate. --- perspective. --- plane geometry. --- prime numbers. --- Elements (Euclid) --- Elementa (Euclides) --- Eukleidou stoicheia (Euclid) --- Stoicheia (Euclid) --- Elementa (Euclid)

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Euclid’s Elements of Geometry was a book that changed the world. In this sweeping history, Benjamin Wardhaugh traces how the ancient Greek text on mathematics – often hailed as the world’s first textbook – shaped two thousand years of art, philosophy and literature, as well as science and maths. With stories of influence on every continent, and encounters with the likes of Ptolemy and Isaac Newton, Hobbes and Lewis Carroll, Wardhaugh gives dramatic life to the evolution of mathematics. Previously published as « The Book of Wonders »

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Mathematics --- Mathématiques --- History --- Histoire

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Writings by early mathematicians feature language and notations that are quite different from what we're familiar with today. Sourcebooks on the history of mathematics provide some guidance, but what has been lacking is a guide tailored to the needs of readers approaching these writings for the first time. How to Read Historical Mathematics fills this gap by introducing readers to the analytical questions historians ask when deciphering historical texts. Sampling actual writings from the history of mathematics, Benjamin Wardhaugh reveals the questions that will unlock the meaning and significance of a given text--Who wrote it, why, and for whom? What was its author's intended meaning? How did it reach its present form? Is it original or a translation? Why is it important today? Wardhaugh teaches readers to think about what the original text might have looked like, to consider where and when it was written, and to formulate questions of their own. Readers pick up new skills with each chapter, and gain the confidence and analytical sophistication needed to tackle virtually any text in the history of mathematics. Introduces readers to the methods of textual analysis used by historians Uses actual source material as examples Features boxed summaries, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading Supplements all major sourcebooks in mathematics history Designed for easy reference Ideal for students and teachers

Mathematics --- Guided reading. --- History.