PublishedSouvenir Press, October 2000 |
ISBN9780285635944 |
FormatSoftcover, 256 pages |
Dimensions19.6cm × 12.8cm × 1.8cm |
Zero is a relatively recent invention. Invented by the Babylonians, banned by the Greeks and worshipped by Hindus zero has had a fascinating history. Zero was born as an Eastern philosophical concert and this informative, accessible history traces the story of this mysterious number and the people (scholars and mystics, scientists and clergymen) who have fought over its meaning.
The battles over zero shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics and religion. Underneath every revolution in the last millennium lay a zero.
Charles Seife is a correspondent for New Scientist and has done extensive research into probability theory, artificial intelligence and visualisation of multidimensional spaces. He was trained by mathematicians such as Andrew Wiles, who solved Fermat's Last Theorem