Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous IdeaThe Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshipped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time, the quest for the theory of everything. Line illustrations. Zero follows the number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe and its apotheosis as the mystery of the black hole. Elegant, witty, and utterly fascinating, Zero takes us from Aristotle to superstring theory by way of Pythagoras, Descartes, the Kabbalists, and Einstein. It is a compelling look at the strangest number in the universe, and one of the greatest paradoxes of human thought. "A stunning chronicle."-U.S. News & World Report. "Entertainingly traces the history of numbers from 30,000 years ago, down to the role that zero plays in contemporary cosmological theory. After finishing, his readers will feel they've accomplished a considerable something."-the New York Times. "Charles Seife has made a marvelously entertaining something out of nothing. By simply telling the tale of zero, Seife provides a fresh and fascinating history not only of mathematics but also of science, philosophy, theology, and even art. An impressive debut for a promising young science writer."-John Horgan. |
Contents
Chapter Null and Void | 1 |
Nothing Comes of Nothing | 25 |
Nothing Ventured | 63 |
Copyright | |
8 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
abacus Achilles ancient Arabic Archimedes Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle's astronomers atoms Babylonian ball balloon big bang black hole calculus calendar Cantor carpet Casimir effect century closer cosmos counting created curve Descartes digit Earth Egyptians Einstein electron ellipse equal equation faster Figure finite galaxies geometry golden ratio gravity Greek idea imagine Indian infinite number infinite zeros infinity and zero irrational l'Hôpital L'Hôpital's rule laws Leibniz Maimonides math mathematicians mathematics Mayans measure move multiplying nature negative numbers Newton's number line number system objects parabola particles Pascal philosophy physicists physics planets problem Pythagoras Pythagorean quantum mechanics rational numbers real numbers scientists seat simple singularity smaller and smaller space space-time speed of light sphere square star string theory symbol tangent thing tiny tions tortoise Trans ultraviolet catastrophe universe vacuum virtual particles void wave wiggling wormhole York Zeno Zeno's zero and infinity zero-point energy