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Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Author: Charles Seife
Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4 reviews
Sales Rank: 9178

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9

ISBN: 0285635948
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780285635944
ASIN: 0285635948

Publication Date: October 12, 2000
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Disptched Next Day

Also Available In:

•	Paperback - Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea
•	Hardcover - Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

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•	An Imaginary Tale: The Story of "i" [the square root of minus one]: The Story of "I" (the Square Root of Minus One)
•	Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars

Zero and infinity August 7, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Babylonians invented it, Indians worshipped it, Greeks abhorred it. Zero has been a problematic number for a long time. European mathematicians followed Greek footsteps, until they finally realized how important thing zero was for advanced mathematics.

Seife presents us the history of zero and its sister concept infinity, not only in mathematics, but also in physics and quantum mechanics. Zero is an entertaining book, if a bit light. For quick popular science entertainment purposes it's a good choice. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)

5 out of 5 stars

one of the best maths books around December 8, 2006
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Being an undergraduate philosopher I've had to read a lot of maths books, and this is by far the best. It's true that you don't need much maths background to understand it, but it's also highly enjoyable for those with a lot of maths or physics knowledge - it links up and explains general assumptions in a way which seems never to occur to most teachers of sciences courses. The proof of 0=1 (and, extrapolating, that winston churchill = a carrot) is excellent and well worth committing to memory just to freak out any maths nerds one knows. Also worth a go is the step-by-step guide to making your own wormhole time machine (Step 1: Make a small wormhole, and attach one end to something really heavy). Really excellent, buy everyone you know a copy for christmas.

4 out of 5 stars

Mathematics history April 11, 2003
13 out of 21 found this review helpful

A very readable book. This book covers the life story of the number zero, and it is a facinating story which is being told.

You do not need to have a better than average understanding of maths to be able to appreciate this book.

A good read, highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars

Review for Zero:the Biography of a Dangerous Idea July 30, 2002
27 out of 29 found this review helpful

This book was absolutely wonderful, it delves into the history of mathematics, as far back as the creation of numbers themselves. It looks at the contribution that the Greeks, Babylonians and Hindus made to mathematics, and how religion had restricted the development of mathematics. The book was written very well, it felt like a story book, rather than a factual book. I recommend this book for everyone with an interest in Maths, you do not need to be a mathematician to enjoy this book.