This challenging book argues that a new way of speaking of mathematics and describing it emerged at the end of the sixteenth century. Leading mathematicians like Hariot, Stevin, Galileo, and Cavalieri began referring to their field in terms drawn from the exploration accounts of Columbus and Magellan. As enterprising explorers in search of treasures of knowledge, these mathematicians described themselves as sailing the treacherous seas of mathematics, facing shipwreck on the shoals of paradox, and seeking shelter and refuge on the shores of geometrical demonstrations. Mathematics, formerly...
This challenging book argues that a new way of speaking of mathematics and describing it emerged at the end of the sixteenth century. Leading mathemat...
Pulsing with drama and excitement, Infinitesimal celebrates the spirit of discovery, innovation, and intellectual achievement-and it will forever change the way you look at a simple line.
On August 10, 1632, five men in flowing black robes convened in a somber Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a deceptively simple proposition: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and infinitely tiny parts. With the stroke of a pen the Jesuit fathers banned the doctrine of infinitesimals, announcing that it could never be taught or even mentioned. The concept was deemed...
Pulsing with drama and excitement, Infinitesimal celebrates the spirit of discovery, innovation, and intellectual achievement-and it will...
