Overview

Authoritative and highly readable, this global survey is suited to those with no background in math as well as more informed readers and teachers. Presented in a chronological and thematic manner, these twenty-six absorbing and entertaining essays focus on the era from 1800 to 2000.Contributors such as Henri Poincaré, Judith V. Grabiner, and H. S. M. Coxeter discuss topics ranging from logic and infinity to Fermat's Last Theorem. Additional subjects include the evolution of group theory, the development of modern statistics, and ENIAC, the first computer. Each of the brief, self-contained articles features an illuminating introduction and an extensive bibliography. Numerous relevant and provocative illustrations appear throughout the book.

Full Product Details

Author:   John R. Neill ,  Mathematics Mathematics
Publisher:   Dover Publications Inc.
Imprint:   Dover Publications Inc.
Dimensions:   Width: 18.00cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 25.50cm
Weight:   0.424kg
ISBN:  

9780486474427

ISBN 10:   0486474429
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   28 August 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   No Longer Our Product
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

Preface Perspective: The Search for Certainty 1. The Changing Concept of Change: The Derivative from Fermat to Weierstrass 2. Niels Henrik Abel 3. Oliver and Abel on Series Convergence: An Episode from Early 19th Centrury Analysis 4. The Parallel Postulate 5. Saccheri, Forefunner of Non-Euclidean Geometry Historical Exhibit 1 6. The Evolution of Group Theory: A Brief Survey 7. The Men responsible for the Development of Vectors Historical Exhibit 2 8. Matrix Theory I: Arthur Cayley - Founder of Matrix Theory 9. Matrix Theory II: Basic Properties 10. Matrix Theory III: The Characteristic Equation; Minimal Polynomials 11. Sylvester and Scott 12. The Early Beginnings of Set Theory 13. Infinity: The Twilight Zone of Mathematics 14. Irrationals or Incommensurables V: Their Admission to the Realm of Numbers 15. The Genesis of Point Set Teopology: From Newton to Hausdorff 16. The Origin of the Four-Color-Conjecture Historical Exhibit 3 17. Meta-Mathematics and the Modern Conception of Mathematics 18. Inutition and Logic in Mathematics 19. The Three Crises in Mathematics: Logicism, Intuitionism, and Formalism 20. Kurt Godel, Mathematician and Logician 21. Thinking the Unthinkable: The Story of Complex Numbers (with a Moral) 22. The Development of Modern Statistics Historical Exhibit 4 23. ENIAC: The First Computer 24. Dynamical Systems: Birkhoff and Smale 25. Fermat's Last Theorem: 1637-1988 Editor's Note: Fermat's Last Theorem, 1993 Historical Exhibit 5 Epilogue: Mathematics, A Living Organism Suggested Readings Index

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Author Information

Professor Emeritus at Penn State University, Frank J. Swetz is co-founding editor of Convergence, an e-journal devoted to the history of mathematics, and author of 20 books and more than 300 articles.

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