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The art of more : how mathematics created civilization / Michael Brooks.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Pantheon Books, [2021]Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First American EditionDescription: vii, 320 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781524748999
  • 1524748994
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction: Why our skill with numbers is the greatest human achievement of all -- Arithmetic : how we founded civilization -- Geometry : how we conquered and created -- Algebra : how we got organized -- Calculus : how we engineered everything -- Logarithms : how we launched science -- Imaginary numbers : how we fired up the electric age -- Statistics : how we made everything better -- Information theory : how we created the modern era -- Conclusion: Maths is a many-splendored thing.
Summary: "For readers of Steven Strogatz's Infinite Powers and The Joy of x comes this illuminating exploration of the ways in which math-and the people who have mastered its inherent power through the ages-has shaped our world. In this captivating, sweeping history, Michael Brooks makes clear that mathematics was one of the foundational innovations that catapulted humanity from a nomadic existence to civilization, and that it has been instrumental in every subsequent great leap of humankind--from charting the movements of celestial bodies, to navigating the globe, to tracking the dissemination of viruses. And the trailblazing mathematicians who devoted their lives to taming numbers come to life in Brooks's telling. Here are ancient Egyptian priests, Babylonian tax officials, the Apollo astronauts, the hobbyist who cracked a mapmaking puzzle that had stumped both NASA and U.S. Geological Survey, and the MIT professor who invented the infrastructure of the online world. Their stories clearly demonstrate that the invention of mathematics is every bit as important to the human species as the discovery of fire. First page to last, The Art of More brings mathematics back into the heart of what it means to be human"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 909 B873 Available 33111010631956
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 909 B873 Available 33111010782429
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An illuminating, millennia-spanning history of the impact mathematics has had on the world, and the fascinating people who have mastered its inherent power

Counting is not innate to our nature, and without education humans can rarely count past three -- beyond that, it's just "more." But once harnessed by our ancestors, the power of numbers allowed humanity to flourish in ways that continue to lead to discoveries and enrich our lives today.

Ancient tax collectors used basic numeracy to fuel the growth of early civilization, navigators used clever geometrical tricks to engage in trade and connect people across vast distances, astronomers used logarithms to unlock the secrets of the heavens, and their descendants put them to use to land us on the moon. In every case, mathematics has proved to be a greatly underappreciated engine of human progress.

In this captivating, sweeping history, Michael Brooks acts as our guide through the ages. He makes the case that mathematics was one of the foundational innovations that catapulted humanity from a nomadic existence to civilization, and that it has since then been instrumental in every great leap of humankind. Here are ancient Egyptian priests, Babylonian bureaucrats, medieval architects, dueling Swiss brothers, renaissance painters, and an eccentric professor who invented the infrastructure of the online world. Their stories clearly demonstrate that the invention of mathematics was every bit as important to the human species as was the discovery of fire. From first page to last, The Art of More brings mathematics back into the heart of what it means to be human.

"Originally published in London, Great Britain by Scribe, in 2021."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Why our skill with numbers is the greatest human achievement of all -- Arithmetic : how we founded civilization -- Geometry : how we conquered and created -- Algebra : how we got organized -- Calculus : how we engineered everything -- Logarithms : how we launched science -- Imaginary numbers : how we fired up the electric age -- Statistics : how we made everything better -- Information theory : how we created the modern era -- Conclusion: Maths is a many-splendored thing.

"For readers of Steven Strogatz's Infinite Powers and The Joy of x comes this illuminating exploration of the ways in which math-and the people who have mastered its inherent power through the ages-has shaped our world. In this captivating, sweeping history, Michael Brooks makes clear that mathematics was one of the foundational innovations that catapulted humanity from a nomadic existence to civilization, and that it has been instrumental in every subsequent great leap of humankind--from charting the movements of celestial bodies, to navigating the globe, to tracking the dissemination of viruses. And the trailblazing mathematicians who devoted their lives to taming numbers come to life in Brooks's telling. Here are ancient Egyptian priests, Babylonian tax officials, the Apollo astronauts, the hobbyist who cracked a mapmaking puzzle that had stumped both NASA and U.S. Geological Survey, and the MIT professor who invented the infrastructure of the online world. Their stories clearly demonstrate that the invention of mathematics is every bit as important to the human species as the discovery of fire. First page to last, The Art of More brings mathematics back into the heart of what it means to be human"-- Provided by publisher.

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