Overview

Legend has it that the first magic square, where all lines and diagonals add up to the same figure, was revealed more than 2,000 years ago when a river turtle appeared to have ancient Chinese numerals inscribed on sections of its shell. Patterns are everywhere in nature, and counting, measuring, and calculating changes, are as old as civilisation itself. Here is the essential illustrated guide to mathematics that explores the work of history's greatest mathematicians. From the teasing genius of Pierre de Fermat, who said he knew the answers but rarely gave them up, to the fractal pattern discovered by Waclaw Sierpinski, here are 100 landmark moments. Behind each breakthrough, there's a story about a great thinker and the confounding puzzle that became a discovery and changed the way we see the world.

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9781627950954

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Reviews

"""An exquisite history of math."" -- The Washington Post ""Do you remember with fondness the thrill of mathematical discovery? Reading the Ponderables Mathematics: An Illustrated History of Numbers is the perfect way to capture the joy you once felt."" -- Bergers Book Reviews ""Fascinating reading to anyone even slightly interested in mathematics and numbers...Both adults and young adults...will very much enjoy this volume...A truly excellent book."" -- Portland Book Review"

Author Information

Tom Jackson, series editor, is a science and technology writer based in the United Kingdom. Tom specializes in recasting these subjects into lively historical narratives by uncovering lively stories that help to create new ways to enjoy the sciences. He studied at the University of Bristol and still lives in the city with his wife and three children.

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