Secrets of Infinity: 150 Answers to an Enigma

by Antonio Lamúa (Editor)

Secrets of Infinity examines infinity as it has been studied since antiquity, beginning with the classical figures from Greece and Rome. In an entertaining and practical way, readers will discover that infinity is not limited to the mathematical concept as represented by the symbol nor its metaphysical concept as the indefinable concept of eternity, but in fact, it resides in a variety of disciplines, a multitude of contexts and has a far-reaching influence on human existence. Secrets of Infinity organizes the 150 articles into six subject Engaging and free of jargon, Secrets of Infinity helps to demystify the elusive infinity and bring it closer to modern concepts and understanding. Thinking readers and students will find enjoyment and insight on its pages.

Genres: Science, Philosophy, History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2013

Reviews

[Pvw · Rating 1 out of 5]

This popular-science book looked interesting when I leafed through it briefly on the shelves of the library while doing research for my quiz. Why not give it a try, I thought? It turned out to contain a few nice facts — but above all a great deal of padding. Worse still, it suffers from the same ailment as many other publications in the “100 facts about …” genre: extremely sloppy editing and rushed production riddled with errors.

Each fact is accompanied by a large illustration, sometimes relevant, sometimes only very loosely connected to the subject at hand. About halfway through the book, however, the images start repeating — in reverse order. The text simply continues, but now an illustration appears next to it that actually belongs to a topic covered several pages earlier. You can’t help but wonder whether these things are checked even once before being sent to the printer.

So yes, it starts out promising, but in reality it consists of a handful of genuinely surprising and well-explained snippets, diluted with a great deal of filler to bulk the book out — and then very sloppily edited on top of that. Ideal for what it is, then: something to flick through briefly in the library. But to take home, let alone to buy — not really.

[Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting survey of scientific, mathematical, and philosophical topics. However, the English edition contains numerous math and unit conversion errors so when specific numbers are cited take them with a bit of caution. The connection with some of the topics to the theme of infinity is sometimes obscure.

The illustrations are beautiful. However, many of the figures lack useful captions or references in the main text that indicate how they relate to the topic of the associated article.

The deficiencies cited above could be a result of the edition that I read being a translation from an original Spanish language text. I have not read the original so can't be sure to what degree the problems with the book are due to translation errors.