Infinitesimal : how a dangerous mathematical theory shaped the modern world / Amir Alexander.
By: Alexander, Amir R [author.].
Material type: BookPublisher: New York: Scientific American, 2014Edition: First edition.Description: 352 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.ISBN: 9780374176815 (hardback).Subject(s): Calculus -- History | Geometry, Infinitesimal -- History | Mathematics -- Europe -- History -- 16th century | Mathematics -- Europe -- History -- 17th century | Science, Renaissance | SCIENCE / History | HISTORY / Europe / WesternDDC classification: 511 Online resources: Cover image Summary: "The epic battle over a mathematical concept that shook the old order and shaped the world as we know it. On August 10, 1632, five leaders of the Society of Jesus convened in a somber Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a simple idea: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and limitlessly tiny parts. The doctrine would become the foundation of calculus, but on that fateful day the judges ruled that it was forbidden. With the stroke of a pen they set off a war for the soul of the modern world. Amir Alexander's Infinitesimal is the story of the struggle that pitted Europe's entrenched powers against voices for tolerance and change. It takes us from the bloody religious strife of the sixteenth century to the battlefields of the English civil war and the fierce confrontations between leading thinkers like Galileo and Hobbes. We see how a small mathematical disagreement became a contest over the nature of the heavens and the earth: Was the world entirely known and ruled by a divinely sanctioned rationality and hierarchy? Or was it a vast and mysterious place, ripe for exploration? The legitimacy of popes and kings, as well as our modern beliefs in human liberty and progressive science, hung in the balance; the answer hinged on the infinitesimal. Pulsing with drama and excitement, Infinitesimal will forever change the way you look at a simple line--and celebrates the spirit of discovery, innovation, and intellectual achievement"--Summary: "The epic battle over a mathematical concept that shook the old order and shaped the world as we know it"--Item type | Current location | Call number | Copy number | Status | Notes | Date due |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non Fiction | BardBerlinLibrary | 511 Ale 2014 (Browse shelf) | c.1 | Available | ||
Non Fiction | BardBerlinLibrary | 511 Ale 2014 (Browse shelf) | c.2 | Available | ||
Non Fiction | BardBerlinLibrary | 511 Ale 2014 (Browse shelf) | c.3 | Available |
Browsing BardBerlinLibrary Shelves Close shelf browser
339 Bla 2013 Macroeconomics / | 342.430 Gra 2015 Grundgesetz : | 365.450 Tim 2002 Prisoner without a name, cell without a number / | 511 Ale 2014 Infinitesimal : | 519.2 Men 2013 Introduction to probability and statistics / | 519.5 Huf 1993 How to lie with statistics / | 651.09 Sav 2014 Cubed : |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
"The epic battle over a mathematical concept that shook the old order and shaped the world as we know it. On August 10, 1632, five leaders of the Society of Jesus convened in a somber Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a simple idea: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and limitlessly tiny parts. The doctrine would become the foundation of calculus, but on that fateful day the judges ruled that it was forbidden. With the stroke of a pen they set off a war for the soul of the modern world. Amir Alexander's Infinitesimal is the story of the struggle that pitted Europe's entrenched powers against voices for tolerance and change. It takes us from the bloody religious strife of the sixteenth century to the battlefields of the English civil war and the fierce confrontations between leading thinkers like Galileo and Hobbes. We see how a small mathematical disagreement became a contest over the nature of the heavens and the earth: Was the world entirely known and ruled by a divinely sanctioned rationality and hierarchy? Or was it a vast and mysterious place, ripe for exploration? The legitimacy of popes and kings, as well as our modern beliefs in human liberty and progressive science, hung in the balance; the answer hinged on the infinitesimal. Pulsing with drama and excitement, Infinitesimal will forever change the way you look at a simple line--and celebrates the spirit of discovery, innovation, and intellectual achievement"--
"The epic battle over a mathematical concept that shook the old order and shaped the world as we know it"--
There are no comments for this item.