Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

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It's a hit!

What an interesting book. After finishing a very similar (though I did not know it at the time) book about the Golden Ratio, I was pleased to find... (show more)

What an interesting book. After finishing a very similar (though I did not know it at the time) book about the Golden Ratio, I was pleased to find a book about quirky math that was at once easy to read and informative. You do not need to be a mathematician to enjoy this book. It reads partly like a history of the events that surrounded the development and acceptance (and flat out refusal to believe in) the concept of nothingness.
Who would have thought that the number, or anti-number, 0 could mean so much by meaning so little. The author has a playfully serious tone throughout, including an appendix that proves a certain Prime Minister could very well be a vegetable. (show less)

 

 

by Facebook-gebruiker

No, it's a flop!

Less of a biography of zero and more of an executive summary.

Plenty of interesting subjects are touched upon, but due to the book's short length ... (show more)

Less of a biography of zero and more of an executive summary.

Plenty of interesting subjects are touched upon, but due to the book's short length most of those subjects go unexplored or unsupported. (show less)

 

 

by John Farthing

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  Relatively light for a book that covers topics so deep. This is an in-depth chronological history of the (anti?) number zero, and it is a history much richer than you would first think. The story winds through diverse areas of study and the lives of many historical figures.

  This is a history book at the core, but you can't tell the history of a number without some equations. The author does an excellent job in this area, by making everything easy to understand and delivering it in smal... (show more)

  Relatively light for a book that covers topics so deep. This is an in-depth chronological history of the (anti?) number zero, and it is a history much richer than you would first think. The story winds through diverse areas of study and the lives of many historical figures.

  This is a history book at the core, but you can't tell the history of a number without some equations. The author does an excellent job in this area, by making everything easy to understand and delivering it in small enough doses. I've never taken a course past Intermediate Algebra, and had no problem with any of the concepts discussed in the book.

  In the end, I preferred the historically minded first half to the Stephen Hawking-ish theorems of the second half. The book as a whole was well worth the read though. It's a short read too, so even the less interesting parts are easy to tolerate. (show less)

   

   

  by Tom Rodgers on May 13, 2009 at 01:44AM

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  A really interesting look at zero and infinity past, present, and possibly future. The writing was a little simple at times and definitely repetitive, but I'm guessing that was to draw interest from non-math geeks, as well. Having said that, he didn't shy away from providing proofs and delving into more complicated topics such as string theory, which I now plan to learn more about. My favorite sentence on this topic was:

  "Some physicists believe that the singularities at the cente... (show more)

  A really interesting look at zero and infinity past, present, and possibly future. The writing was a little simple at times and definitely repetitive, but I'm guessing that was to draw interest from non-math geeks, as well. Having said that, he didn't shy away from providing proofs and delving into more complicated topics such as string theory, which I now plan to learn more about. My favorite sentence on this topic was:

  "Some physicists believe that the singularities at the center of black holes are windows into the primordial quantum foam before the big bang - and the froth of foam at the center of a black hole, where time and space have no meaning, is constantly creating countless numbers of new universes that bubble off, inflate, and create their own stars and galaxies".

  Mmm... quantum foam! Good stuff! (show less)

   

   

  by Amber Jenks Frederiksen on Jun 19, 2009 at 04:30PM

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