Zero

The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, History, Criticism, & Surveys, Science & Nature, Mathematics, Science, Physics, General Physics
Cover of the book Zero by Charles Seife, Penguin Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Charles Seife ISBN: 9781101199602
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group Publication: September 1, 2000
Imprint: Penguin Books Language: English
Author: Charles Seife
ISBN: 9781101199602
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication: September 1, 2000
Imprint: Penguin Books
Language: English

Popular math at its most entertaining and enlightening. "Zero is really something"-Washington Post

A New York Times Notable Book.

The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.

In Zero, Science Journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers—from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists—who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Popular math at its most entertaining and enlightening. "Zero is really something"-Washington Post

A New York Times Notable Book.

The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.

In Zero, Science Journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers—from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists—who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.

More books from Penguin Publishing Group

Cover of the book The Hunt Club by Charles Seife
Cover of the book The Mind at Work by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Magic Burns by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Feng Shui for Success by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Baltic Gambit by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Dressed to Confess by Charles Seife
Cover of the book And Then There's This by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Forsaking Home by Charles Seife
Cover of the book The Widow's Strike by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Speaking Freely by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Maverick by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Old Bones by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Small Victories by Charles Seife
Cover of the book Heaven's Shadow by Charles Seife
Cover of the book The Dead Roam the Earth by Charles Seife
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy