One to NineOne to Nine
the Inner Life of Numbers
1st American ed.
Title rated 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 10 ratings(10 ratings)
Book, 2008
Current format, Book, 2008, 1st American ed, All copies in use.eBook
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Describes numeration and mathematics in practical terms, exploring the significance of numbers in literature, religion, and philosophy.
A lighthearted celebration of mathematics by the author of Alan Turing: The Enigma furnishes a comprehensive introduction to mathematical conundrums, from the puzzles of the ancient Greeks to superstring theory, in a volume that demystifies the mathematical properties of everyday objects and phenomena.
In a book based on his former weekly London newspaper column on mathematical topics, Hodges (Oxford U.) explains the deeper properties of numbers (e.g. Fibonacci numbers, which got general audience attention through The Da Vinci Code), and their relationship to forecasts of climate change, music, gambling, and other topics for the mathematically intrigued. Zero is not neglected, though it's not in the title. Hodges, who also wrote Alan Turing: The Engima, includes "killer Sudoku" and other challenging puzzles for further exploration. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Andrew Hodges, one of Britain’s leading biographers and mathematical writers, brings numbers to three-dimensional life in this delightful and illuminating volume, filled with illustrations, which makes even the most challenging math problems accessible to the layperson. Inspired by millennia of human attempts to figure things out, this pithy book, which tackles mathematical conundrums from the ancient Greeks to superstring theory, finds a new twist to everything from musical harmony to code breaking, from the chemistry of sunflowers to the mystery of magic squares. Starting with the puzzle of defining unity, and ending with the recurring nines of infinite decimals, Hodges tells a story that takes in quantum physics, cosmology, climate change, and the origin of the computer. Hodges has written a classic work, at once playful but satisfyingly instructional, which will be ideal for the math aficionado and the Sudoku addict as well as for the life of the party.
What Lynne Truss did for grammar in Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Andrew Hodges now does for mathematics.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
A lighthearted celebration of mathematics by the author of Alan Turing: The Enigma furnishes a comprehensive introduction to mathematical conundrums, from the puzzles of the ancient Greeks to superstring theory, in a volume that demystifies the mathematical properties of everyday objects and phenomena.
In a book based on his former weekly London newspaper column on mathematical topics, Hodges (Oxford U.) explains the deeper properties of numbers (e.g. Fibonacci numbers, which got general audience attention through The Da Vinci Code), and their relationship to forecasts of climate change, music, gambling, and other topics for the mathematically intrigued. Zero is not neglected, though it's not in the title. Hodges, who also wrote Alan Turing: The Engima, includes "killer Sudoku" and other challenging puzzles for further exploration. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Andrew Hodges, one of Britain’s leading biographers and mathematical writers, brings numbers to three-dimensional life in this delightful and illuminating volume, filled with illustrations, which makes even the most challenging math problems accessible to the layperson. Inspired by millennia of human attempts to figure things out, this pithy book, which tackles mathematical conundrums from the ancient Greeks to superstring theory, finds a new twist to everything from musical harmony to code breaking, from the chemistry of sunflowers to the mystery of magic squares. Starting with the puzzle of defining unity, and ending with the recurring nines of infinite decimals, Hodges tells a story that takes in quantum physics, cosmology, climate change, and the origin of the computer. Hodges has written a classic work, at once playful but satisfyingly instructional, which will be ideal for the math aficionado and the Sudoku addict as well as for the life of the party.
What Lynne Truss did for grammar in Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Andrew Hodges now does for mathematics.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
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- New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2008.
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