Enlightening Symbols: A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers eBook

Delivery: Can be download immediately after purchasing. For new customer, we need process for verification from 30 mins to 12 hours.
Version: PDF/EPUB. If you need EPUB and MOBI Version, please contact us.
Compatible Devices: Can be read on any devices.

Enlightening Symbols
A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers
An entertaining look at the origins of mathematical symbols While all of us regularly use basic math symbols such as those for plus, minus, and equals, few of us know that many of these symbols weren’t available before the sixteenth century. What did mathematicians rely on for their work before then? And how did mathematical notations evolve into what we know today? In Enlightening Symbols, popular math writer Joseph Mazur explains the fascinating history behind the development of our mathematical notation system. He shows how symbols were used initially, how one symbol replaced another over time, and how written math was conveyed before and after symbols became widely adopted. Traversing mathematical history and the foundations of numerals in different cultures, Mazur looks at how historians have disagreed over the origins of the numerical system for the past two centuries. He follows the transfigurations of algebra from a rhetorical style to a symbolic one, demonstrating that most algebra before the sixteenth century was written in prose or in verse employing the written names of numerals. Mazur also investigates the subconscious and psychological effects that mathematical symbols have had on mathematical thought, moods, meaning, communication, and comprehension. He considers how these symbols influence us (through similarity, association, identity, resemblance, and repeated imagery), how they lead to new ideas by subconscious associations, how they make connections between experience and the unknown, and how they contribute to the communication of basic mathematics. From words to abbreviations to symbols, this book shows how math evolved to the familiar forms we use today.

This is a digital product.

Additional ISBNs
9780691154633

Enlightening Symbols: A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers is written by Joseph Mazur and published by Princeton University Press. The Digital and eTextbook ISBNs for Enlightening Symbols are 9781400850112, 1400850118 and the print ISBNs are 9780691173375, 0691173370. Additional ISBNs for this eTextbook include 9780691154633.