From Powells.com
It is difficult to imagine being scared of a number
or the absence of a number.
Yet, as Charles
Seife explains at the beginning of
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous
Idea, "for ancient peoples zero was a foreign and frightening
idea....zero not only evoked images of a primal void: it also had dangerous
mathematical properties. Within zero there is the power to shatter the framework
of logic."
The origins of mathematics is a surprisingly fascinating subject. Seife describes
Mayan solar calendars, Greek ideas of geometry and ratio, and theories behind
light and pressure, with a deft sureness that makes you wonder why you ever
found geometry, algebra, or physics intimidating in the first place (and those
of you who never did will get a kick out of it all the same). This is no small
feat. However, in Zero Seife also takes the history of mathematics in
surprising directions by introducing a fascinating controversy that spans centuries
a controversy involving artists, scientists, mathematicians, philosophers,
as well as religious and political leaders. The eventual acceptance of zero,
and its integral role in our history since the time of the Bablylonians, is
a remarkable story. Seife writes with enthusiasm and clarity as he unravels
the story of a concept that was once considered demonic but that today plays
a key role in our efforts to solve the most difficult puzzles of our universe.
Georgie, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.
In Zero, Science journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.
Review
"[A] lively and literate first book....[E]ntertaining and enlightening..." Publishers Weekly
Review
"This is a very light treatment of big ideas....[F]ast-paced and colorful but repetitious, oversimplified, and exaggerated..." Library Journal
Review
"[Z]ero emerges as a daunting intellectual riddle in this fascinating chronicle....A must read for every armchair physicist." Booklist
Synopsis
Popular math at its most entertaining and enlightening. "
Zero is really something"-Washington Post
A New York Times Notable Book.
The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.
In Zero, Science Journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers--from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists--who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.
Synopsis
The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.
In Zero, Science Journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers—from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists—who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.
About the Author
Charles Seife, a journalist with Science magazine, has also written for New Scientist, Scientific American, the Economist, Wired UK, and the Sciences, among many other publications. His previous titles include Alpha & Omega and Zero. He received an MS in probability theory and artificial intelligence from Yale.
Table of Contents
Chapter 0: Null and Void
Chapter 1: Nothing Doing: The Origin of Zero
Chapter 2: Nothing Comes of Nothing: The West Rejects Zero
Chapter 3: Nothing Ventured: Zero Goes East
Chapter 4: The Infinite God of Nothing: The Theology of Zero
Chapter 5: Infinite Zeroes and Infidel Mathematicians: Zero and the Scientific Revolution
Chapter 6: Infinity's Twin: The Infinite Nature of Zero
Chapter 7: Absolute Zeroes: The Physics of Zero
Chapter 8: Zero Hour at Ground Zero: Zero at the Edge of Space and Time
Chapter Infinity: Zero's Final Victory: End Time
Appendix A: Animal, Vegetable, or Minister?
Appendix B: The Golden Ratio
Appendix C: The Modern Definition of a Derivative
Appendix D: Cantor Enumerats the Rational Numbers
Appendix E: Make Your Own Wormhole Time Machine
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
Tech Q&A
Read the Tech Q&A with Charles Seife