Jospeh Mazur

Enlightening Symbols

A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Traversing mathematical history and the foundations of numerals in different cultures, Mazur looks at how historians have disagreed over the origins of the numerical system for the past two centuries. He follows the transfigurations of algebra from a rhetorical style to a symbolic one, demonstrating that most algebra before the sixteenth century was written in prose or in verse employing the written names of numerals. Mazur also investigates the subconscious and psychological effects that mathematical symbols have had on mathematical thought, moods, meaning, communication, and comprehension. He considers how these symbols influence us (through similarity, association, identity, resemblance, and repeated imagery), how they lead to new ideas by subconscious associations, how they make connections between experience and the unknown, and how they contribute to the communication of basic mathematics.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Princeton University Press
• Seitenzahl: 312
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. Dezember 2016
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 236mm x 154mm x 22mm
• Gewicht: 460g
• ISBN-13: 9780691173375
• ISBN-10: 0691173370
• Artikelnr.: 44947146

Autorenporträt

Joseph Mazur

Rezensionen

"Mazur begins by illustrating how the ancient Incas and Mayans managed to write specific, huge numbers. Then, for more than 200 pages, he traces the history of division signs, square roots, pi, exponents, graph axes and other symbols in the context of cognition, communication, and analysis."--Washington Post