false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175728494m/551722.jpg 551722 3 For curious nonmathematicians and armchair algebra buffs, John Derbyshire discovers the story behind the formulae, roots, and radicals. As he did so masterfully in <I>Prime Obsession</I>, Derbyshire brings the evolution of mathematical thinking to dramatic life by focusing on the key historical players. <I>Unknown Quantity</I> begins in the time of Abraham and Isaac and moves from Abel's proof to the higher levels of abstraction developed by Galois through modern-day advances. Derbyshire explains how a simple turn of thought from "this plus this equals this" to "this plus <I>what</I> equals this?" gave birth to a whole new way of perceiving the world. With a historian's narrative authority and a beloved teacher's clarity and passion, Derbyshire leads readers on an intellectually satisfying and pleasantly challenging journey through the development of abstract mathematical thought. 538962 2006 Unknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra total:65|5:9|4:27|3:21|2:8|1:0| 65 232 130 16 3 0 false false Sat Nov 22 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 14:28:38 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 12:17:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Nov 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 17 05:50:18 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 17 05:51:44 -0800 2008
I am reading a book on Maths, I am about to finish it, and in this book, I found a superb passage:

"I remain completely confident that the labor I have expended on the science presented here and which

hasd emanded a significant part of my life as well as the m...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Mar 15 20:33:23 -0700 2008 Fri May 09 08:51:48 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Nov 24 08:35:55 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 27 19:38:55 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 17 20:26:16 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 20:32:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 21 08:49:11 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 21 08:57:05 -0700 2007
I checked this out at the library. Wanting to know more history about mathematics (because I have started doing this monthly thing with my students called the "Mathematician of the Month" where they research a famous mathematician that has had some influence over whatev...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Jan 08 19:50:25 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 19:56:40 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 18 20:03:11 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 20:03:31 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 13 14:32:54 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 14:33:08 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 03 14:34:17 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 07 15:42:41 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Jan 07 05:38:03 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 08:11:37 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sun Nov 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 12:19:20 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 00:45:21 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 13 16:21:07 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 13 16:22:01 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Tue Jul 01 07:00:40 -0700 2008 Wed Jan 07 08:48:55 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Jun 26 18:21:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 18:21:09 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Sun Jun 22 09:30:44 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 13:07:26 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Dec 02 00:23:00 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 00:23:00 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 30 15:23:21 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 30 15:23:38 -0800 2009 3 0 true false Thu Nov 26 11:43:32 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 26 11:43:40 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sat Nov 21 11:35:31 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 11:36:33 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=551722