Are Numbers Real? The Uncanny Relationships Between Maths And The Physical World

Author: Brian Clegg

Stock information

General Fields

Price : $32.99 AUD
ISBN : 9781472139764
Publisher : Little, Brown Book Group Limited
Imprint : Robinson
Contained items :
Weight (g) : 0.382
Publication date : January 2017
Dimensions : 237mm X 157mm X 23mm
Produced in : United Kingdom
RRP : 32.99
Availability date : April 2017
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Product Type : books

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color :
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Author : Brian Clegg
Series :
Bind : Paperback
Edition : 417
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Language : en
Dewey classification : 512.7209
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Library of Con LOCSH :
Pages : 304
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Illustrations : Integrated b&w charts and illustrations.
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9781472139764

Description

Have you ever wondered what humans did before numbers existed? How they organized their lives, traded goods, or kept track of their treasures? What would your life be like without them? Numbers began as simple representations of everyday things, but mathematics rapidly took on a life of its own, occupying a parallel virtual world. In Are Numbers Real? Brian Clegg explores the way that maths has become more and more detached from reality, yet despite this is driving the development of modern physics. From devising a new counting system based on goats, through the weird and wonderful mathematics of imaginary numbers and infinity to the debate over whether mathematics has too much influence on the direction of science, this fascinating and accessible book opens the reader's eyes to the hidden reality of the strange yet familiar world of numbers.

Author description

BRIAN CLEGG is a prize-winning science writer with a physics degree from Cambridge and a masters in the mathematical discipline operational research. He has written over 20 science books and articles for newspapers and magazines from The Observer and Wall Street Journal to BBC Focus and Playboy. He lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and two children.

Acknowledgement of country

The Bundjalung of Byron Bay Arakwal People have lived in the coastal landscape around Byron Bay for at least 22,000 years.We acknowledge and show respect for the original people on the land on which we are based. We respectfully acknowledge the ancient cultural presence in the Australian landscape by First Nation peoples and their ongoing traditional and spiritual custodianship of the marine areas, beaches, bush, rivers, lakes and mountains.