Think of a number . . .: Whee do numbers come from

by Dexter Booth

This book is for anyone who has ever wondered where numbers come from; anyone who has had a problem ‘doing’ mathematics; anyone who has been unable to see the point; anyone who has been mystified by the sudden appearance of some idea seemingly unconnected to anything they had seen before. Indeed, it is a book for anyone with an interest in mathematics. It sets out to explain in simple terms how the number system can be created as a logical, step-by-step development starting from a wish to record a simple count through to the complex numbers that are used, amongst other things, to describe the innermost workings of an atom. At the same time it aims to dispel the fog of confusion that can arise from misinterpreting some of the words that mathematics attaches to numbers; words such as real and imaginary, rational and irrational, complex and natural. The development described is not historic because, like a lot of human endeavour, the actual, historic development was a haphazard, hit-and-miss affair. No, the development here is a logical, pragmatic development that moves back and forth between need and invention to culminate in one of the most remarkable of achievements of the human mind. Why numbers? Because they are the alpha and omega of mathematics, the seed corn from which springs our entire understanding of the universe around us. From the tick-tock of a simple pendulum to the formation of the stars above us, without numbers we would comprehend nothing! The structure of the text differs from the conventional as you will see as you read. Mathematics is essentially a doing subject and at various points along the way you are encouraged to dig out your pen and paper and have a go. Whilst it is not essential that you do have a go – the text reads quite adequately by skipping those pages – having a go will certainly aid your memory of what you have read.

528 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2011

Reviews

[Stephie Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fairly good as far as it goes. It was kind of repetitive and ment to be a hands on book with exercises. I did find that it had the explanation of the proof that the square root of 2 or the diagonal of a square with unit length ws the best I've come across. The discussion of complex numbers was pretty good too.