Taming the Infinite
US Title: The Story of Mathematics
US Title: The Story of Mathematics
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An illustrated history of mathematics
for a general audience, from its beginnings
in ancient Babylon to the present day.
1 Tokens, Tallies, and Tablets—the birth of numbers
2 The Logic of Shape—first steps in geometry
3 Notations and Numbers—where our number symbols came from
4 Lure of the Unknown—X marks the spot
5 Eternal Triangles—trigonometry and logarithms
6 Curves and Coordinates—geometry is algebra is geometry
7 Patterns in Numbers—the origins of number theory
8 The System of the World—the invention of calculus
9 Patterns in Nature—formulating the laws of physics
10 Impossible Quantities—can negative numbers have square roots?
11 Firm Foundations—making calculus make sense
12 Impossible Triangles—is Euclid's geometry the only one?
13 The Rise of Symmetry—how not to solve an equation
14 Algebra comes of Age—numbers give way to structures
15 Rubber Sheet Geometry—qualitative beats quantitative
16 The Fourth Dimension—geometry out of this world
17 The Shape of Logic—putting mathematics on fairly firm foundations
18 How Likely is That?—the rational approach to chance
19 Number Crunching—calculating machines and computational mathematics
20 Chaos and Complexity—irregularities have patterns too
2 The Logic of Shape—first steps in geometry
3 Notations and Numbers—where our number symbols came from
4 Lure of the Unknown—X marks the spot
5 Eternal Triangles—trigonometry and logarithms
6 Curves and Coordinates—geometry is algebra is geometry
7 Patterns in Numbers—the origins of number theory
8 The System of the World—the invention of calculus
9 Patterns in Nature—formulating the laws of physics
10 Impossible Quantities—can negative numbers have square roots?
11 Firm Foundations—making calculus make sense
12 Impossible Triangles—is Euclid's geometry the only one?
13 The Rise of Symmetry—how not to solve an equation
14 Algebra comes of Age—numbers give way to structures
15 Rubber Sheet Geometry—qualitative beats quantitative
16 The Fourth Dimension—geometry out of this world
17 The Shape of Logic—putting mathematics on fairly firm foundations
18 How Likely is That?—the rational approach to chance
19 Number Crunching—calculating machines and computational mathematics
20 Chaos and Complexity—irregularities have patterns too